Chasing Riley
by JuxtaMinute
Summary: Riley Matthews, code-named "Liberty," the daughter of the president of the United States, can't get the Secret Service off her back when she goes on dates with boys. When she goes to Prague with her father she meets a handsome Texas boy, Lucas Friar, after she escapes her protectors. The two go on an adventure around Europe, but little does she know he is actually Secret Service.
1. The Date

**(A/N)** This is a _**Rucas** _ Fanfic based off of the 2004 movie Chasing Liberty. There are side pairings such as some **Riarkle** (at the beginning) and **Joshaya**. It may seem a little confusing for those who haven't seen the movie but Maya and Josh are secret service and they often only call each other by their last names, at least in this chapter they are also supposed to be a few years older than Riley and Riley is 17/18 in this fanfic.. So I hope you enjoy, and please comment and review.

* * *

Riley Matthews sat in front of the mirror in her bedroom, applying makeup for her date tonight, she didn't go too dramatic. Just enough to tell she was wearing makeup. She had tried on many different outfits, trying to find the _Perfect_ one, saying "of course you can kiss me" every time she looked at herself in the mirror, saying it different ways each time. Her date, Farkle Minkus was just pulling up in front of her house... the White House, and was nervous as well, looking at himself in the rear view mirror and adjusting his appearance.  
"Identification please." The security guard announced as the boy drove up to the gate.  
"Hi. Farkle Minkus, That's uh M-I-"  
"Just your ID please." The Security repeated.  
"I'm uh here to pick up..." Farkle trailed off before he noticed the guard was already walking away with his Identification. "...Okay."  
The security Guard walked over to another in the office, "Farkle Minkus here to pick up Liberty."  
"Check's out." The other replied.  
"It's not every day you come to the Whitehouse for a date... Well maybe when Clinton was in office, right?" Farkle stated jokingly.  
"Would you please get out of the car, Mr. Minkus?" The security guard asked him.  
"That was a joke..." Farkle told him, suddenly feeling afraid but he did as he was instructed. "Seriously, how many guns are pointed at me right now?" He asked.  
"I'll need those flowers too." The security guard informed him.

A little while later Riley finally came out of her house and walked toward his car, the orange flowers now slightly battered after being inspected. Farkle was sitting there in shock, wondering what he got himself into.  
"Hi Farkle." Riley said as she got closer, waving slightly at him with the tips of her fingers. Letting out a small laugh as their eyes met.  
"Wow. Uh..." Farkle breathed as he started to get out of his car to open her door, only to have one of her doormen open it for her, so he sat back down in his seat. "These uh... were for you." Farkle lifted up the flowers to show her, "It would've impressed you." He said defeated.  
"No! No, no no! They still do they... died for their country." Riley told him, holding up the head of a flower that had fallen off, earning herself a laugh from Farkle.  
"Do you wanna get out of her?" Farkle asked.  
"More than you know." Riley told him with a laugh.  
They pulled up to the gate as it opened for them, waiting for the gate to open fully Farkle and Riley shared a smile, "Alone at last." He told her before they drove off the premises only to be followed by four security vehicles.

Outside of the restaurant where the two were having their date, undercover agents sat watching them, "All agents are in position, and if you get a moment can you walk me out a latte? Iced. Soy." One radioed from outside  
The couple was laughing as they waited for their meal. "I am so glad you finally asked me out, it wasn't that hard was it? I mean, come on, I'm easy!" Riley exclaimed before realizing her words, "Okay I'm not _easy_ but... I'm just gonna shut up because I don't know what I'm saying right now."  
"I have wanted to ask you out for a really long time now... but I was a _little_ intimidated." Farkle told her.  
"Because of my father?" Riley asked sincerely, leaning into him slightly from across the table.  
"No, because you're easy." He remarked earning a laugh from Riley, "I'm just going with what you said."  
" _Looks like Liberty found herself a good one this time." An agent from a FedEx fan said, watching their date from the hidden cameras. "I hate first dates... Too painful_." He stated.  
" _For you or the girl_?" Another agent asked, speaking into a hidden microphone from inside the restaurant.  
" _All I want is to love and be loved, Hart_." The man retorted. She nodded with a smile on her face.  
"Hello..." A woman and her daughters approached the couple on their date.  
"Hi." Riley smiled at the two. She noticed the camera in the woman's hand and her nervous behaviour. "Would you like to take a picture?" She offered sweetly.  
"That would be great!" The woman exclaimed.  
"Okay," Riley whispered encouragingly, "come here." She motioned for the young girls to come stand beside her.  
"Go, go, go!" Her mother pushed.  
"Stand right here." Riley told the two and looked back at the woman.  
"We're visiting from Florida, I voted for your father... My husband didn't care for him but we're not together anymore. Not because of that! Because there were other... other things too. But I got the girls!" The woman babbled nervously. "Lilly, get over there." She pointed to the other side of Riley so that they would be on either side of her.  
"Come here." Riley encouraged again. "Here we go, stand here." She put her arms around the two girls. Farkle leaned in closer so he too would be a part of the picture.  
The woman motioned for Farkle to get out of the picture and when he pulled back she quickly thanked him in an annoyed tone. She snapped the picture of her daughters with Riley. "Oh that's great! Thank you!"  
"You're welcome!" Riley replied kindly. The mother motioned for her girls to come with her and they left the couple alone. "Enjoy Washington." Riley told them.  
"Thank you!" The woman called over her shoulder. Earning eyes on Riley as they left.  
"H-how can you stand to have all these people staring at you and coming up to you all the time?" Farkle asked, a little taken back from the situation.  
"It's part of the job description! I mean after six years in the Whitehouse and eight years as the Governor's daughter I don't really know anything else..." Riley told him in a quiet voice.  
"Well... I think you'd get all this attention even if you weren't the First Daughter." Farkle told her. Reaching over and grabbing her hands in his, playing with each other's fingers.  
" _You look good in that blouse, you should wear that more often_." The agent in the FedEx van told Hart.  
" _Actually it's a sweater_." Hart deadpanned.  
" _Sweater, blouse, you wear it well. Take a compliment_."  
"Have you heard from Rhode Island yet?" Riley asked Farkle.  
"Yeah, I got in." He told her, Riley's jaw dropped in a silent gasp.  
"Congratulations! I knew you would." She said, pointing at him for emphasis.  
"Well my parents are really pushing pre-med."  
"I have this theory about parents." Riley piped up, "They want you to appreciate the good things in life but not do them."  
" _Uhh... I think we got something at Nine O'clock_." Hart said into her mic as a group of boys headed toward the couples table.  
"Hey! Thought I'd make this night a little more memorable." One of the guys said as he reached their table.  
" _Uh he's reaching, Go!_ " Hart called into her microphone and a swarm of undercover guards sprang into action. One grabbed the guy while others tackled the other group members.  
"What are you guys doing!" Riley called as her and Farkle got up from their table. "No, no, no, wait!"  
"Hey what are you doing, these are my friends!" Farkle said, watching the chaos unfold before him.

Riley and Farkle stood outside of the restaurant, watching police pat down his friends.  
"I am so sorry." Riley apologized, her arms crossed in front of her, hugging herself.  
"I should wait for them." Farkle told her, taking a small step back from her and towards his friends.  
"What? No, no! It's still early we can go catch a movie or something." Riley argued, looking at him hopefully.  
"Riley..." Farkle began, switching his weight from his left foot to his right, "You are really great... But this is just... way too out of control for me. I'm sorry." He said, shaking his head before walking away from her.  
"Of course you can kiss me..." Riley whispered, disappointed and hurt.  
" _Matthews to control: We're taking Liberty home._ " The agent from the FedEx fan radioed.


	2. The Confrontation and The Deal

**(A/N)** Here is the second chapter, if anyone is interested in knowing a "fun fact" I am watching the movie, pausing, typing up their dialogue and changing names to fit better. I hope you're enjoying so far, I got this idea and I thought it worked absolutely perfect. Lucas should be introduced in the next chapter, so stay tuned and please like and review, it'd mean a lot. :)

* * *

When Riley got home she quickly got out of the car as fast as she could, slamming the door behind her and storming off into her house.  
"Good night." Joshua called, "'Poor kid." He mumbled, chewing the skin on his thumb.  
"Alright, well at least she's home safe." Maya stated, adjusting her position in the drivers seat.  
"How about I get you home safe." Josh remarked, undoing his seatbelt.  
"How about I call you when I get there and I'll let you know."  
"Sure." Josh smiled at her a bit too long before getting out of the vehicle. "You're not going to call me, are you?" He turned around and asked before closing the door behind him.  
"No." Maya stated and drove off before he could even close the door.  
"It's outta my way anyway!" Josh called after her moving vehicle.

Riley was now running over to her father's office, fuming. She turned down a couple corridors before she came across her destination where two guards were standing outside the door.  
"Hey Riley, how was your date?" The guard wearing sunglasses asked.  
"I need to talk to him." Riley stated, not slowing her pace, walking right past them.  
"Oh I can't let you in there, Riley." The same guard told her.  
Riley dodged past the guards and ran faster towards her fathers office.  
"Riley!" The other guard called, reaching for her but he was too late.  
Riley opened the door to her father's office, not hesitating to knock like she usually does, and bulldozed her way into the room. "Dad. Way to go, I can't believe you had that restaurant _swarming_ with all of your secret servants, you ruined my date! And now, I'm going to die before I even get to third base." Riley blurted out, causing her father's eyebrows to raise on his forehead. "I mean Second Base."  
Cory Matthews looked past his daughter and motioned with his head for her to look behind herself. As Riley turned around she found five other representatives standing in the room, she had interrupted their meeting. "Riley." He began.  
Riley let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, "I'll talk to you about this later." She said before turning around and heading back out of his office.  
"No, No. Stay. Pull up a chair. We're just discussing G8 Summit in Prague, how to best persuade the EU leaders to adopt our plan for distributing humanitarian aid and medical technology to developing nations, but you had a bad date, so we should probably focus on that." Cory stated.  
"No, no, no, um... I'm so sorry to have interrupted. Excuse me." Riley left as fast as she could.  
"So third base is what again?" Cory asked the room after Riley had left. The other representatives offered unintelligible responses, "Glad I asked." Cory mumbled under his breath.

The next morning Riley sat at the breakfast table, poking at her food, she was still very upset about last night and felt as though her father didn't trust her.  
"Riley." Cory started, "I know that dating is more difficult for you..."  
"Try impossible." Riley interrupted.  
"And you know that the extra security is necessary." He reminded her.  
"They ruined her date." Topanga stated, "She really likes this boy."  
"Oh. Okay." Cory raised his hands in frustration, dropping his fork in the process. "A boy who ranks 24th in his class, plays XBOX two hours a day, and wants to go to art school?"  
"Who told you that?" Riley questioned, growing suspicious and angry with her father.  
"Phil." Cory answered simply.  
"Okay..." Riley said in disbelief. "I don't want some guy who wears his _sunglasses_ inside the house at night -Sorry Phil- listening in on my dinner dates. That is such a total abuse of power. I am eighteen-years-old and I wanna go out on a date without a posse of guys in bad suits -sorry Harper- hiding behind every tree! Nothing is private."  
"Sweetie, I am just trying to protect you." Cory told her.  
"Dad, you know, I'm not that little twelve-year-old girl who would only dance with you at your inaugural ball." Riley explained to him.  
Cory nodded slowly, "You're right."  
"Excuse me, sir." One of their servants interrupted them, "Vice -President on the phone...He says its urgent." Riley rolled her eyes in annoyance.  
"Dad." Riley called as her father began to get up from the table, "You can make it up to me when we're in Prague."  
Cory let out a small laugh, "We'll see." He said as he grabbed his blazer.

Riley and Topanga followed Cory as he went to speak with the Vice-President, "Dad, you remember Missy Bradford."  
"The French Ambassador's daughter." Topanga clarified.  
"Yes. She's going to be in Prague and she's invited me to go to this concert at the Opera House and I wanna go." Riley continued.  
"Ah yes, Missy. Pierre's little girl. It's alright I suppose." Cory mused.  
"Without the army." Topanga chimed in, "One agent."  
"Thank you, mom." Riley beamed at her mother. "Yeah, one agent." Riley held up her pointer finger to her father.  
"Two. Matthews and Hart." He stated, "Final offer."  
"Just Matthews and Hart, promise?" Riley asked.  
"Never ask a president to promise, honey." Topanga warned her in a gentle tone.  
"I'm not, I'm asking my dad." Riley looked from her mother to her father. "Promise?"  
"Promise." Cory replied. Riley smiled and wrapped her arms around her father in a big hug.  
"So, later maybe we can talk about me leaving Prague for a couple days to go to the Berlin Love Parade?" Riley asked as the two were descending the stairs.  
"Forget it." Cory laughed.  
"No, no! I've been reading a lot about it, and it's just basically one big peace rally."  
"No, it's basically just an orgy." Cory argued.  
"Not if I keep my top on and go like this, a lot." Riley held up to fingers in a peace sign and gave her father a cute expression.  
"It's not going to happen, Riley." Cory said before cupping her cheek in his hand, "The answer's no." he stroked her cheek with his thumb.  
"Sir. Vice-President, still waiting." The same Servant reminded Cory.  
"President. Still President." Cory retorted as he followed the Servant.

They were on the plane, almost at Prague, Riley and Topanga were playing Scrabble to pass the time. Riley played the word 'Zygote' for forty points.  
"Okay, when I get to Prague I will fulfill all my diplomatic obligations, I will go with you and mom to the reception, I will go with Missy to the concert where I will be escorted by two -count them-" Riley held up two fingers, "two agents, stay out as late as I want. Next day I will go back to having every moment of my life accounted for, two days later I'll take a break and go to the Love Parade and meet you back in Prague for the trip home, go to college and love you forever. Fantastic plan." Riley smiled at her father.  
"Take out the Love Parade, you have yourself a deal." Cory stated. "H-A-T Hat." Cory played on the Scrabble board. "Eight points. Damn."  
"Dad... I'm eighteen and if you let me go to the Love Parade, maybe I'll vote for you."  
"You are a very funny child." Cory patted Riley on the top of her head as he got up from his seat.  
"Mom." Riley groaned, looking to her mother for salvation.  
"Q-U-I-V-E-R-S That is a triple word score with a seven letter bonus, makes 144 points." Topanga smiled to herself.  
"Damn." Cory and Riley said at the same time.


	3. Prague

**(A/N)** Hey everyone I've decided that I will try and post every second day, thank you so much for the reviews and favourites/follows, it really does mean a lot. I have been receiving a lot of comments about the similarity to the other movie _The First Daughter_ that **also** came out in 2004, please don't blame me for the similarities in plot, if anything blame the writers of the actual movies. haha.

Also, I originally kept two of the names from the movie for two of the guards because I didn't know who to put them as in the GMW/BMW universe, but now I have changed "Harper" and "Phil" into Shawn and Eric, so from now on if you see those names coming up they're taking over for Harper and Phil. I hope you enjoy this chapter and FINALLY Lucas Friar will be introduced. Stay tuned.

* * *

Chapter 3

The presidential family finally landed in Prague, Riley was blown away by how beautiful the city is, from the architecture to the colour, even the people were beautiful. Riley was in such awe from the moment she landed.  
" _It's been a busy week for America's first family in Prague during this G8 Summit week. First Daughter, Riley Matthews, took a Horse and Carriage ride with the mayor of Prague and his wife."_ A reporter announced over local TV stations _, "After a press conference there was a tour of the Air Force Museum with the Minister of Culture. Then a caricature by a local artist on Charles Bridge, a Photo Op with High school Students at Prague Castle. And even a few moments entertaining children at the Prague Marionette Theatre. It seems that Riley Matthews diplomatic skills are on the way to matching those of her father, President Matthews. The day ended with a presidential banquet at the National Museum."  
_ The museum was elegant and beautiful, guests dressed in suits and dresses. Riley, herself, was wearing a conservative pink dress with her long brown hair tied up in a graceful bun, as she shook hands with guests and other representatives, smiling sweetly at every single person she met.  
"Riley." Missy called as she approached the family.  
Riley gasped when she saw the girl, "Missy!" She exclaimed as she brought the girl into a warm hug.  
Cory and Topanga looked at one another, this was definitely not the little girl they remembered, " Missy?" Cory muttered under his breath to his wife.  
"I am so sorry I am late, for some reason the guards outside took turns to search me." She told them.  
"Missy... you're all grown up." Topanga said, opening her arms to hug the girl.  
"It happens." Missy laughed, hugging Topanga. She greeted Cory in French, honoring his Presidential status.  
Cory replied to her in French and asked how she had been, the two having a small conversation, Missy laughed with Cory, "What's that in your mouth, Candy?" He asked, noting the small ball on her tongue as she laughed.  
"Ah, no, no, no. It's pierced." She told him, sticking out her tongue for him to see it better. "You like it?"  
"No." Cory remarked. Missy smiled and walked back over to Riley, "Remind me to commission a study as to why on earth anyone would want to pierce their tongue." Cory muttered to his wife.  
"Mr. President, I'll save your countries money, you see some guys think it makes for a better-" Missy started to explain before Riley cut her off.  
"Um... Missy, let's go mingle over here." Riley grabbed her hand and pulled the girl away from her father.  
"She's a nice girl." Topanga told Cory as the two walked away.  
"Mmhmm." He sarcastically agreed. "I wonder what else she has pierced."  
"Relax, Cory."  
"How should I relax?" He looked at her.  
"Set up an embargo, you love those." Topanga smiled as she kissed her husband. "Have you been smoking?" She asked, pulling away from him and looking at him curiously.  
"I had a cigar with the prime minister. It's rude if you don't." He told her.

"I love Champagne." Riley stated as the two walked around the Museum, taking a sip from her flute.  
"Yes, and eighteen is okay in Europe, so..." Missy took a sip from her own flute. She glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, "I can't believe they are still following you." She exclaimed, noting the security guards following them, "Go away, men with guns!"  
"It's no good, I've tried that. They don't get it." Riley told her.  
"I don't know how you stand it, I mean I got rid of my babysitters when I was... fourteen?"  
"Yeah... I'm afraid it doesn't work like that in the _Land of the Free_." She retorted.  
"Cheers?" Missy asked, holding up her flute to Riley. The girls clanked glasses before raising them to the guards as if to cheers them. After they took their sips Missy looked at Riley with a mischievous grin on her face.  
"What?" She asked, matching her friends grin.

The night went on, waiters carried appetizers on trays as they made their way around the room full of people, The President and his First Lady were speaking with another couple before excusing themselves. As they turned around the two saw Missy walking into the room again, dressed in less-than-ordeal clothing for the evenings event with another girl on her arm dressed similarly.  
"Thank god Missy found herself another trashy friend to hang out with." Cory said to Topanga.  
"Yes..." Topanga mused, "Your daughter."  
Cory's face paled at the sight of his daughter, who was now wearing more dramatic makeup and her hair was cut to her shoulders, along with clothes you would expect to see for someone going to a night club.  
"Thanks mom, Thank you so much again, dad. Bye." She said before waving goodbye to them and the two made their way out of the room.  
"See?" Missy asked as Riley linked arms with her, "He loved the hair." The girls laughed.  
"A little change in plans, Mr. President?" An agent asked Cory.  
"Oh... you two have been with me a _long_ time." Cory replied.

"We spend the day at the Love Parade and then we go to my friend's club, It's the hottest place in the whole city." Missy told Riley as the two made their way to their destination.

Riley was looking at Missy and smiling, so she didn't see when she accidentally bumped into someone passing by, they apologized and Riley told them it was okay.  
"Are you okay?" Missy asked.  
"Yeah... What a great idea to change my hair... It's perfect!" Riley exclaimed, loving the fact that people didn't seem to recognize her as she roamed the streets.  
"See? I told you." Missy stated.  
"No one knows who I am."  
"Did you get jetlag, Hart?" Josh asked, trailing Riley and Missy  
"No." She told him flatly.  
"Really? I get it awful."  
"I take herbs."  
"Herbs?"  
"Yep."  
"Really, why?"  
"They help reset your clock." Maya told him, not looking at him as they made their way.  
"I'd like to reset your clock." Josh made another joke to her, smirking at himself. Maya gave him a look, "Just saying."  
"Missy! I'm so excited! I feel so free!" Riley exclaimed, practically jumping as they walked.  
"You're going to love it." Missy smiled.  
Riley, once again, wasn't paying attention to where she was going and walked right into the back of a taller man. "Woo, sorry... sorry.." Riley locked eyes with the man and immediately took in every inch of his face, he was very attractive. Green eyes, dirty blonde hair, tan skin, muscular build...  
"Excuse me." He said, not taking his eyes off her, his slight accent catching her attention. His voice held a very slight twang in it, barely noticeable to the ear unless you really focused on it.  
"Riley, come on." Missy grabbed her and pulled her away from the handsome stranger. "There's plenty more inside." She told her.  
Riley finally turned away from the guy, not knowing that he kept staring as she walked away. "Missy you are _so_ right! There are lots of cute guys here." Riley yelled over the music as they entered the club.  
"Oh, wait till the Berlin Love Parade. _Five Hundred Thousand_ cute guys!" She exclaimed loudly.  
Riley squealed with joy, "Sounds like so much fun! I can't wait!"  
"It's gonna be crazy!" Missy lead her to the centre of the dance floor. "Here we are."  
"Wow!" The two danced their way closer to the live music, throwing their hands in the air and moving their bodies to the beat and drinking beers. Riley looked to her left and saw a man jumping off a balcony into the crowd of people and began crowd surfing, Riley screamed with excitement. As she continued staring in that direction she noticed a couple things that made her mood instantly drop. Secret Agents were standing in corners of the building and near entrances.  
"What?" Riley asked in disbelief, anger bubbling to the surface. "No..." As she looked around the room her eyes spotted more and more agents everywhere. "No! No way!" She grabbed Missy and headed back towards agents Hart and Matthews, "No way! He said just two of you!" She yelled at them.  
They muttered excuses but Riley didn't care, she was too mad at her father and felt betrayed, once more, by his lack of trust in her. Missy pulled Riley away from them and the two headed for the exits.  
" _Liberty is heading down to the bathroom_." Josh said into a mic and the two headed towards the way they came to try and cut her off if she decided to leave.  
" _Got her."_ Another agent called over through his mic.  
Riley and Missy entered the bathroom, Riley was looking at herself in the mirror and adjusting her hair while she waited for Missy to leave one of the stalls. "I can't believe he did this to me, again," Riley said as Missy walked up to the mirror beside her. "completely broke his promise, don't I deserve one night of freedom? I'm not even talking freedom- two agents!"  
Missy noticed a young woman walk into the bathroom and smiled, "Oh, my god, Riley. I have a great plan."She told her. Missy exited the bathroom, "Come this way, come this way." She held onto the girl, completely inebriated.  
"I'm telling you-" Josh was saying to Maya before they noticed Riley fall over onto the ground.  
"Riley!" They both called as they ran over to the girl to see if she was okay. The girl looked up at Josh, laughing. It wasn't Riley. " _Secure the Perimeters, Liberty's gone awol."_  
"Riley Run!" Missy yelled.  
Riley ran out of the club, wearing the clothes of the girl she switched with, taking stairs two at a time.  
"Riley!" She heard an agent behind her call but she only ran faster.  
Riley was laughing as she escaped the man and made it out of the club, but her smile soon left her face when she realized she had nowhere to go, she began running another direction when she quickly saw the guy from earlier, "Um... excuse me... um... Sir! Excuse me." She called to him, approaching him quickly.  
"You alright?" He asked as he leaned off his motorcycle and stood in front of her.  
"Could you _please_ help me get out of here?" She asked him, a little out of breath from running.  
The man looked past Riley and when he heard someone calling after her, a small smirk teased his lips, "Sure, why not?" He told her before getting on his bike and handing her his helmet.  
"Thank you." She breathed as she grabbed his helmet and quickly got on the bike behind him, she heard another voice calling after her, "Go, go, go, go, go!" She exclaimed, lightly slapping his shoulder each time she said it and the two began zipping away from the agents that would trail them.


	4. The Great Escape

**(A/N)** Thank you so much for all the love and support and I hope I'm able to drag you into this word successfully. Also, in the movie the "Lucas Friar" character drives a Vespa Scooter but I changed it to Motorcycle because it just seems more bad-ass haha.

* * *

Chapter 4

"Oh my god! I can't believe I just did that!" Riley exclaimed on the back of the strangers motorcycle as they drove down a street. The stranger led her down side streets and past a cafe, Riley was screaming her enthusiasm as she held her arms out to her sides as if she were flying. "I'm on fire! I'm untouchable! I'm Riley, who are you?" She reached her right arm over his shoulder to shake his hand.  
"Lucas Friar," he grabbed her hand, "freelance get away man." He called over his shoulder, "Yeah, need the hand. Need the hand." He said when she didn't let go and he hand to continue steering his bike.

The two pulled up in front of a restaurant, and Riley pulled herself off his bike, "Thank you. Thank you, thank you so much Mr... Lucas." Riley laughed, removing his helmet off her head and handing it back to him.  
"You're welcome... I think, depending on what crime I've just aided and abetted." Lucas said to her.  
"No. No, no crime. Um... I don't think... Thank you again, very much, thanks." She reassured him.  
"Riley?" He called over his shoulder as she began to walk away, "Do you have a last name?"  
"Umm.." Riley walked back over to him, tucking her hair behind one ear, "No, It's actually, it's just Riley. Like _P!nk_. Thank you," She placed her hand on his arm with a small laugh before beginning to walk away, only to see a car pulling around the corner to where they were stopped. "Umm... actually-"  
Before she could finish Lucas was holding out his helmet to her again.  
"I need another ride again, if that's okay, very fast." She finished saying as she got back on his bike and put his helmet back on, "Like right now."  
"Whatever you say, Mrs. Bond." He joked before revving his engine and taking off. The two spend off down the streets of Prague.  
"They're chasing us! They're chasing us!" Riley yelled, looking over her shoulder. Laughing as Lucas never stopped driving. He stopped down a narrow alley, too small for the chasing vehicle to fit and Riley looked back at them, a devilish smirk dancing across her lips. "Go, go, go, go, go!" She encouraged, once more pulling away from the agents.  
Lucas pulled into another narrow alley, hidden off from the main stretch and waited for their pursuers to pass by, Riley was holding onto his waist and had her head rested against his shoulder as they waited. She got off the bike and crept over to the main road to see that the agents had, indeed, passed by without seeing them.  
"Lucas! I think we just lost them!" She whispered her excitement, skipping back over to him.  
"Oh, _we_ lost them, did we?" He asked her, "So why the wild ride, Riley?"  
"Uh- Concert security," Riley thought on her feet as she removed the helmet, "I snuck in and they caught me, chaos erupted."  
"Yeah... 'cause they always give giant chase vehicles to bouncers." Lucas stated smugly.  
"Well... maybe there was a bit more involved than just that." Riley told him, hugging the helmet to herself.  
"There always is, isn't there?"  
"Yeah..." Riley smiled, biting her bottom lip slightly. There was a long silence between the two and Riley suddenly came back to reality, "Uh... well.. I'm gonna- I'm gonna go," She began backing away, "thank you so much for the ride, Lucas, I appreciate it." She continued backing away, waving a small goodbye to him before finally turning away from him. "Bye."  
"Oh wait." He called after her.  
Riley smiled to herself and had to bite her lip to contain her smile before turning back toward him.  
"Helmet?" He asked, pointing to the object in her arms.  
"Oh!" Riley laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed and silly, "So sorry, thanks." She jogged back over to him and placed it in his hand, tucking her hair behind her ear once more and walking back into the main road, looking both ways.  
"You're sure you know where you're going?" Lucas asked, still sitting on his bike.  
"Yes," Riley told him, not looking back. "No." Riley admitted in defeat. "I'm supposed to be meeting a friend of mine at this bar, Marquis de Sade, have any idea where that is?"  
"Hang on." He told her before pulling out his phone and calling someone, "Hey man, it's me. I've got a question for you, Marquis de Sade bar, what's the address?" He paused, "The corner of Jakubska and Templova. Okay, yeah. See you later, man. Bye."  
"Lucas... I know you probably think I'm this really rude -" Before she could finish he was already tossing the helmet at her, "Thank you!" She said as she caught the helmet in her arms and hopped back onto his bike.  
"Hold on." He told her before pulling down the narrow alley way.

They finally arrived at the bar and two sat down inside, Riley was in the middle of swallowing a huge gulp of her beer.  
"So are you a big... drinker?" He asked, noticing her behaviour to the beer.  
"I drink." She told him, giving him a sideways glance. "You're not drinking?" Riley asked.  
"Oh, I think you're getting pissed enough for the both of us." He told her making her laugh into her beer. "So, where're you headed?" He asked, placing his arm over the back of the couch, where the space in between them was.  
"I'm kind of um... backpacking through Europe on my way to the Berlin Love Parade." Riley told him, holding her beer with two hands.  
"Alright... Where's your backpack?" He asked her curiously.  
"Backpacking is just an expression." She told him, nodding at him.  
"Ah yeah... for what?" He asked, taking sip of his cola.  
Riley placed her beer down on the table before throwing her hands in the air in defeat, "Fine! Okay, fine you got me. I'm on vacation here with my parents and it's this numbing series of five-star hotels and seven course brunches and I just... I can't take it anymore."  
"Well it's tough to take, I guess. Chocolate mint on your silk pillow, real nightmare." He stated.  
Riley laughed slightly before taking another big sip of her beer, "So... what's your story?" She asked, getting more comfortable on the couch they were sitting on. "I mean like why are you here all my your eyelashes?"  
Lucas looked at her and raised his eyebrow at her drunken, jumbled mistake. Riley laughed at his reaction and at her own statement.  
"I mean _self_." She corrected, taking another sip.  
"Well, actually I'm here on holiday. Indulging my passion for photography, taking pictures of European Architecture," he explained, "and um... drunk teenage fugitives."  
"Hey! I'm not some Drunk-" Riley was interrupted by loud screeching of tires outside of the bar as a secret service vehicle pulled up in front, "Holy shit!" She whispered as more vehicles pulled up out front. "I have to go!" She exclaimed as she stood up, "Oh god, I have to go."  
"Tell you what, why don't you duck into the bathroom and sort of kill two birds kind of thing?" He said, crouching on the couch closer to where Riley was standing.  
"You!" Riley laughed, "You are great, you! You stay here, you. I'll... I'll be back!" She laughed as she made her way over to the bathroom.

Josh and Maya exited one of the vehicles, glanced at each other as they walked toward the bar, only to be met by Lucas in the doorway.  
"What took you guys so long?" He asked, smirking at the two.  
"Why the hell did you take off Agent Friar, you should've stopped her right outside the concert." Josh told him.  
"What and let the first daughter cause a big scene with a the photographers hanging around outside? She's yours, she's hiding in the bathrrom, drunk. So I'm sure she'll go easy, I'll check in with you later." He said before walking away from them.  
"He's tall." Maya stated before walking into the bar to get Riley.  
"What?" Josh questioned, "He's tall, great..."

"Your daughter ran off with a complete stranger." Cory told Topanga when they were back home, removing his blazer and getting more comfortable.  
"I thought you said he was secret service." Topanga clarified. "Hey what smells like wet cigars in here?"  
"She does not know he's secret service!" Cory exclaimed, "I think the maids were smoking."  
"She's desperate for a little freedom, Cory. You pushed her into this because of your lack of trust. Now you'd tell me if you started smoking again, wouldn't you?"  
"You want me to trust someone who would go off with a complete stranger? And of course I'd tell ya."  
"I thought you said he was secret service." Topanga repeated again.  
"She does not know that!" Cory stated.  
"The maids smoke cigars?" Topanga questioned him smugly.  
"Wait... She doesn't know that..." mused to himself  
"Honesty, Cory. How can a President with a 63% approval rate have absolutely no understanding of his teenage daughter? She needs to have at least the illusion of independence." Topanga told him.  
"That's exactly what I'm gonna give her." Cory stated, the wheels in his head in motion. "Eric! Shawn!"  
"Yes, Mr. President." Shawn answered.  
"Tell me what you know about Lucas Friar." He ordered.  
"Very capable. Youngest agent in Texas," Shawn replied, entering the room.  
"His father was American, highly respected CIA, killed in the line of duty seven years ago. Lucas was raised in Texas by his mother." Eric finished.  
"Shawn, get Lucas Friar on the phone." Cory instructed.  
"Yes, Sir." He obeyed.  
"Eric, contact Hart and Matthews."  
"Yes, sir."  
"Wh-what are you doing?" Topanga asked, walking towards him.  
"She wants freedom? Let freedom ring." Cory told her.


	5. The Plan and a Night on the Town

**(A/N)** Hey guys, thanks so much for all your support. New chapters will be out ever second day. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, please let me know with a review! Love you all :*

* * *

Chapter 5

"I don't know if this guy can handle that, is all I'm saying." Josh said into his phone to Eric.  
"What the hell do you want, now?" Lucas answered his own phone shortly after.  
"Lucas Friar." Cory Matthews voice came from the other end of the phone.  
"Mr. President, hello." Lucas greeted, changing his tone to a more respectful one.  
"I want you to keep our daughter." He told him simply.  
"Cory." Topanga said.  
"Sir?" Lucas asked.  
"Make sure she has no idea who you are." He continued.  
"But Cory..." Topanga intervened once more.  
"But sir..." Lucas unbeknownst echoed.  
"Matthews and Hart are being informed of this plan as we speak."  
"Cornelius..." Lucas heard The First Lady's voice on the other end of his phone.  
"Mr. President... with all due respect-"  
" _With all due respect_ would mean accepting this duty without protest, Friar." Cory reprimanded him.  
"My apologies, Mr. President." Lucas remarked.  
"I know my daughter, without _MTV_ and clean sheets she'll be begging to come home before you know it."  
"What if she doesn't, sir?" Lucas asked, not convinced by the President.  
"The point is to get a little teenage rebellion out of Riley's system, without risk to her or revealing your identity. Ever. And that's paramount, Friar. Ever." Cory hung up the phone.  
Lucas glanced over to where Maya and Josh were standing with cheeky grins on their faces, "It's all you, baby!" Josh called over.  
Lucas held up the "OK" symbol and gave them a grim smile in return.

"I don't think we should be doing this." Topanga said to Cory.  
"I want Riley to be happy." Cory told her. "You seem to think the only way to make her happy is to give her her freedom, so that's what I'm doing. Only... I'm going to be the one controlling that freedom." He finished before kissing his wife on the neck. "Trust me, it's perfect Diplomacy in action."

Riley stumbled out of the bar, looking for Josh and Maya, "They just... left?" She asked when she didn't see them or any secret service vehicles.  
"Yeah... I guess you gave them the slip." Lucas stated. "Too smart for them, hey?"  
"So I'm free..." Riley said in disbelief, a small chuckle escaping her lips before she let out a triumphant laugh, "Yes! I'll finally will get to experience the real Prague! I wanna taste it, I wanna smell it."  
"Be sure to smell it before you taste it..." Lucas quipped.  
"Oh, Lucas! I wanna find passion-" Riley spun around to look at Lucas, causing her to bump into another couple passing by.  
"Sorry about that, we're just looking for passion." Lucas tried apologizing but the couple only continued on their way. He looked back at Riley just in time to see her trip and fall in front of his bike. "Tell you what, why don't we just forget the bike." He said as he held his arm out for her to hold onto.  
"Okay..." Riley breathed as she took his arm in hers. Not knowing Josh and Maya were trailing them by foot.  
A little while later they made their way to a river side and took in the view.  
"It's so... beautiful..." Riley admired out loud.  
"Okay, now you've seen it, let's go," Lucas said, beginning to walk away from her.  
"Hold this." She told him, handing him her purse but dropping it on the ground instead.  
"What are you doing?" He asked, picking up her purse as she began to remove her jacket.  
"I'm taking my clothes off." She said simply. "  
"Riley..." She didn't stop or turn toward him, she only continued her pace toward the river. "Can you please stop it."  
"I told you, I want to experience freedom at its utmost freest." Riley stated, removing more clothing. "I wanna swim naked in the Danube!" She yelled.  
"Actually, it's the Vltava." Lucas clarified.  
"Who wants to swim naked in the Vltava? Nobody says that." Riley snarked at him, still removing more clothing, now only in her bra and underwear.  
"In English, Vltava means 'unhealthy bacteria level.'" Lucas informed her.  
"Yeah, right!"  
"Why can't you be free... without being naked?" Lucas asked, turning his back toward her and began removing his jacket to wrap around her almost naked body.  
"Can you help me unhook this?" Riley asked, fighting with the clasp on her bra. Lucas was just behind Riley, ready to put his jacket around her, "Oh! Never mind, I got it." Riley threw her bra off to the side.  
"Good Lord!" Lucas cried exasperatedly, once more turning away from her.  
Riley laughed as she removed her underwear and was now standing completely naked.  
"I am officially a dead man." Lucas stated, his back still toward her. He turned around when he heard her laughing and the sound of splashing water, Riley had walked into the river. "Oh, perfect." he muttered. "Riley get here right now." He walked toward the water to get her out. "This is inappropriate behaviour in a public place."  
They had drawn attention from the customers at a nearby restaurant, one in particular began flashing photo's of the two.  
"I'd like to buy that camera, please." Josh told the man.  
"Why would I want to-" The man stopped when the duo held out their badges, "Oh... okay."  
"Pleasure doing business with you." Josh stated, handing them some money and taking the camera, Maya began walking away and used this moment to his advantage, "Honey! You know, let's get a picture, you know?" He handed the man back his camera, "You know, one for the kids. Quick one, smile! Huh? What do you say?" He put his arm around Maya's shoulders and pulled her in close to him.  
"Mmhmm..." Maya mumbled and gave a fake smile.

"You know, I'll tell you what? I'd bet a nice warm bubble bath back at the hotel would be fabulous about know. It'd be pleasure to escort you there." Lucas told Riley as the two walked down the streets of Prague.  
"No, I've smelt the city and now... I wanna taste it." She smiled at him.  
"Oh god... I knew you were gonna say that." He groaned.  
"You are no fun, you know that?"  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I tend to lose my joi de vivre when I'm cold, wet... and starting to chafe..." Lucas uttered.  
"It's your own fault, who swims fully clothed in the Danube?"  
"We've been over this..."  
"Where's that music coming from?" Riley stopped in her tracks, captivated by the beautiful string music and operatic voices filling her ears. She continued following the music and gasped at what she saw, she placed her hand to her heart. "Oh, my god... It's amazing!" They were showing a movie on the side of a building, vibrant colours filling the area. Riley stopped to watch but shortly scanned the area to find a better vantage point. "I wanna see it from up... there." She pointed to a nearby buildings rooftop.

The two made their way up to the rooftop, Riley in the lead and Lucas begrudgingly following her, Riley propped herself up on the curved, pointed, roof peaks and stared off.  
"See, what you don't understand is that _this_ is historic for me, no one ever lets me do anything remotely dangerous and I'm _never_ alone." Riley told Lucas as he cautiously made his way over to her. "Anyways, it's not like this is that dangerous or anything." Riley continued climbing higher.  
"Well, no... not unless you grab the pipe." Lucas said right as Riley grabbed the pipe and it came free in her hand, losing her balance and footing she slid down the roof peak, screaming. Lucas quickly reacted and took a step back before grabbing onto the back of her thigh to stop her.  
"Oh god..." Riley gasped, laying on her back, panting with fear only to begin laughing and then began climbing up again.  
"It's probably best if you hold your horses and let me go first, because it looks to me like it could be a little bit-" Before he could finish Riley had already climbed up to the top and jumped down, "tricky..."  
Riley laughed as Lucas joined her, "We almost died! That was incredible."  
"Not too dramatic, are you?" Lucas walked in front of her, "Come and have a look at this." He said, holding his hand out to her and Riley took it, following Lucas to the edge of their viewing point where a small balcony-like opening awaited them.  
"Wow... This is incredible." Riley mused, staring at the video of a woman in a red dress and a man in suit sitting on a bed, about to embrace in a kiss.  
"You see that woman? She thinks that she's just having a dream, but she's not. And he's deceiving her." Lucas informs Riley.  
"Yeah? Well how else can Paris get Helen to show him how she truly feels? It's the perfect deception." Riley countered.  
"So it's alright to deceive with good reason then?" Lucas inquired.  
"Here's my theory: telling the truth isn't always good, but lying isn't always bad. If telling the truth makes someone feel bad then lying can be good. Good things can come from lying and bad things can come from telling the truth... although sometimes only telling part of the truth is the same thing as telling a lie."  
Lucas nodded, absorbing her theory, "And that's good or bad?" He squinted at her.  
"I don't know... that part of the theory is kind of new for me." Riley replied, making Lucas laugh.  
Lucas pulled out his camera and held it up to his face, "Riley." He called to get her attention, she turned at gave a sweet smile to his camera. Lucas flashed the picture, "Beautiful." He said, although he was really using his camera to look at Josh and Maya further away from them watching them.

"This is romantic..." Josh said out loud, watching the movie, "It's almost like we're on a date, isn't it Hart?"  
Maya laughed, staring into her binoculars to watch Riley and Lucas, "Yeah right... You on a last name basis with most your girlfriends?"  
Josh glanced at her, "Maya."  
"Please... don't - just don't."  
"Yeah I know... Didn't feel right, sorry." Josh mumbled.


	6. Trains

**(A/N)** Hello Rucas and Joshaya fans! Here is another chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as well, I am working hard to bring you a chapter every second day and trying to stay a head of my own schedule. Please leave a review and let me know what you're think.

* * *

Chapter 6

"Offenbach is okay, I much prefer the Italian operas. You know, tragic... and romantic." Riley mused as they watched the opera from their viewing point.  
"I'm terribly sorry, milady. All those rooftops were booked this evening, so deal with it." Lucas sarcastically remarked.  
Riley giggled, "Rigoletto is my favourite. I can totally relate to Gilda, you know, cloistered and... love-starved in the nunnery."  
"Come on," Lucas said softly, causing Riley to look at him, "trips to Europe. Tickets to the Opera... Your life can't possibly be _that_ bad."  
"I never said it was bad," Riley spoke quickly, "It's just... lonely." She fell silent for a short while, Lucas staring at her intently. "And the funny thing is that I'm never _ever_ alone." The two sat in silence for a moment, looking out at the view, Riley sighed and placed her head on Lucas' shoulder. "Beer is good, isn't it?"  
"I've always thought so..." He replied, relaxing a little underneath her head. He reached over and grabbed his jacket to cover Riley.

Meanwhile, Hart and Matthews were sitting at their rooftop, out of site. It was getting late and Josh had fallen asleep, his head slowly falling onto Maya's shoulder. Maya froze, a look of annoyance and disbelief coming across her face. She glanced at him to make sure this wasn't just another one of his tricks or come-ons, but he was fast asleep. She shook her head, fighting a small smile, as she continued to draw the night sky.  
Dawn was rising and Josh sat up, smirking at the sky as a small Maya was resting in his lap, his legs a pillow for her head and his jacket around her like a blanket. Maya suddenly woke up and quickly sat up, pulling his coat off of her and returning it to him. She glanced at him momentarily before adjusting her hair.

Lucas was fighting with his cellphone and Riley was slowly waking up, adjusting to her surroundings. Lucas' backpack was placed under her head as a pillow and his jacket was used to shelter her from the cool nights air.  
"Oh, my god... What time is it?" Riley sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes, "I need to call my parents."  
Lucas chuckled, "I thought you wanted to be liberated?" He questioned, sparing her a small glance before fidgeting with his phone once more.  
"Liberated, yes. Grounded, no. Could I use your cellphone, please?" She asked him.  
"Uh... dead, I'm afraid. Drenched with your _Danube_." He told her.

"Are these correct numbers?" Cory asked his servant.  
"They're approximations." The man replied.  
"I want _exact_ numbers, how long will that take?"  
"Approximately?"  
"Just get 'em."  
"Yes, sir."  
"Home base, go!" Eric said into the phone.  
"Hi, It's Riley. Can I please speak to my mom, please?"  
Eric mouthed, 'It's Riley' to Topanga and passed her the phone.  
"Honey, are you okay?"  
"Yes, mom, I'm fine. I'm totally fine, don't worry about me. I'm okay." Riley told her mom into the Metro public phone, "How's dad?"  
"Riley?" Cory's voice came from the other end of the phone.  
"Dad, listen to me! What you did was wrong, you broke your promise and I needed you to trust me. When I saw you had sent all those agents, I went a little crazy, yes, which I know wasn't right either. But mostly this is your fault, so I'm going to give you the chance to apologize." Riley said quickly into the phone, taking a breath only once she said what she needed to.  
"You're right, sweetie. I shouldn't be making promises I don't intend to keep, maybe I can learn to lighten up a little bit." Cory said as he was handed a folder from agent Shawn.  
"Wow... Dad, thank you very much for not being mad about this."  
"Well, I was your age too once," Cory told her, opening the folder and looking through photos from the night before, "I'm just glad you're safe." The first picture he saw was 'couple' picture of Josh and Maya.  
Cory glanced at Shawn for an explanation, "I don't know." He told the President.  
"Okay, you know what? I'm gonna say it, you guys have like officially turned into cool parents and maybe you're finally starting to see me-"  
"Riley Matthews!" Cory said loudly in the phone, seeing the pictures of her skinny dipping in the river the night before, "You get yourself back here right now, your little adventure is over with!"  
"What?" Riley was confused by her father's change in attitude and tone.  
"You see what your daughters been up to?" Cory handed the pictures over to Topanga, "I want her brought in _right now_." He said to another agent.  
"What happened to _let freedom ring_?" Topanga questioned.  
"Where is she?" Cory asked Shawn.  
"Train station." He responded.  
"Listen to me, young lady, you _do not,_ you hear me, do not get on a train."  
"Are you kidding?" Riley asked in disbelief, "You traced my call?"  
"I'm your father... and the President of the United States, I'll trace whatever I wanna trace." Cory stated.  
"Okay, you know what? I'll meet you on the plane on Sunday. Trace this." Riley exclaimed, slamming the phone onto the receiver.  
"Riley!" Cory called into the phone. "Get her brought in. Get Friar on the phone."

"Lucas," Riley said as she walked over to the table he was sitting at, "It's time for me to go now."  
"So where are they picking you up?" He asked, smiling.  
"No, no. They're not picking me up, I'm not going back. I'm going to Berlin for the Love Parade." Riley told him as she began walking away.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're not going back with your parents?" Lucas asked, picking up his bag and quickly jogging up next to Riley.  
"No, no, they said they turned cool, they told me to um... fly like the wind or something so... are you gonna come?" Riley looked at him but continued her place.  
"Riley, I'm not gonna chase you through Europe." Lucas declared.  
"Fine, I'll go by myself."  
"Yeah, well you can't."  
"Why not." Riley questioned.  
"Because."  
"Because why?"  
"Because... European Railway travel can be very dangerous." Lucas came up with an excuse but only made Riley laugh, "I mean, it's the preferred method of travel for delinquents and lunatics... perverts, thieves, the odd slasher now and again. They're not properly maintained..." Lucas looked at Riley who gave him a doubtful look, "The trains, that is, the slashers are world-class."  
"Yeah. Nice try, Lucas. Thanks." Riley scoffed at him.  
"Riley just stop and think will you?" He grabbed her by the arm and turned her to look at him.  
"I don't want to think," Riley said exasperatedly, "I wanna live! I am so tired of knowing where I'm going to be every second of everyday, I mean _prisoners_ have more freedom than I do. I just... I want real life where real things happen."  
"Yeah, well real life is overrated, it's just a lot of odd smells and disappointment, and besides, you don't even have any money."  
"I have enough..." Riley argued, "You know what? When I was researching the Love Parade online, I read about this girl from Cleveland who made it all the way on like two bucks. She sold her poetry along the way and by the time she got there she had made like a hundred-thousand dollars."  
"Bull." Lucas countered.  
"Well I read it on the internet..." Riley offered.  
"Yeah, and on the internet Elvis is the conductor of the Orient Express."  
"Um-Um... I have this theory..." Riley added quickly.  
"Great, another theory." Lucas said annoyed, "Hit me." He offered up anyway.  
"If something's meant to happen, it will."  
"That's a short one." Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise.  
"Yeah, no time to talk" Riley reached over and placed her hand on his, where he was holding his backpack on his shoulder, "Thank you... Bye!" She ran off toward the trains.  
"You're killing me!" He called after her but followed her anyway.  
" _Alright, we got them!_ " Maya said into her earpiece.  
Riley and Lucas ran down corridors, up stairs, and down the train boarding platforms, "Come on, come on... hurry!" Riley exclaimed more to herself than Lucas, looking back and forth for the proper boarding pad. "Which is it?"  
"Probably the green one." Lucas offered, noting that all the trains they passed were green.  
"Thank you," Riley sarcastically replied. "Oh, sir! Excuse me, can you tell me which train goes to Berlin?" Riley asked a man standing alone.  
"That one." He pointed to the train next to them.  
"Thank you." Riley exclaimed, running over to the train and pulling herself up on it.  
"Good." Lucas said before following her and doing the same.

"Berlin over there." Josh stated as the two finally made their way up to the boarding pads, pointing to a train opposite the one Riley and Lucas had went on. Him and Maya made their way over to the train and boarded it. The two trains heading in opposite directions.


	7. Six Million Dollar Man

**(A/N)** Hello, lovelies! I hit 200 followers on tumblr today and I figured to celebrate this I would post a new chapter a day early! So here is the seventh chapter! In this chapter we will be introduced to another character, so you have that to look forward to. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

* * *

On Riley and Lucas' train, Lucas sat fidgeting with his camera across from the pretty brunette. Riley watched him intently, a small smile toying at her lips, looking at him more than the view out the train window.

Lucas sighed and looked up at Riley, "What?"  
Riley shook her head, her lips pursed in a thin smirk, "Nothing." She told him quietly.  
"Why is it I find that highly unlikely?" He asked her, a smirk forming on his own lips.  
"You have a little thing for me, huh?"  
"I'll stop you there." Lucas said, "I do not have a _thing_ for you, okay? Little or otherwise."  
"Why did you get on the train with me to Berlin then?" She asked, leaning forward to look him in the eye.  
Lucas searched for an excuse but kept coming up empty handed.  
"Mmhmm." Riley smiled at him.  
"Okay, you know what? You're right. I'm strangely attracted to exhibitionist runaways, it's an addiction, really. I was in the program for a while where we had to spend time with fully clothed homebodies but... I've relapsed again." He told her sarcastically.  
"Nobody forced you to come with me, I don't need a babysitter."  
Lucas smirked and leaned back against the seat, chuckling to himself slightly.  
"What?" Riley questioned, "What is that smart-ass little smile for? You don't think I can take care of myself?" Riley folded her arms over her chest and glared at him.  
"No, no, no. It's just that I've spent the last... fifteen hours with you and had to rescue you about... fifteen times, which for the record, works out to about once an hour. How could I possibly think that you couldn't take care of yourself, I mean that's ridiculous."  
"Oh, my god. Would you get over yourself? I don't need you. I'm sorry, in fact if that's what you think of me then why don't you just leave." Riley told him, "Seriously, go! Bye bye! I don't need you." Riley adjusted her position in her seat. "Why aren't you leaving?" She demanded when he hadn't moved.  
"We're on a moving train." He smiled at her.  
"Fine. Then don't talk to me." She said.  
Lucas reached into his backpack and pulled out toothpaste, he applied some onto his finger and began brushing his teeth, he looked at Riley and held the tube out to her. She didn't react so he pulled it away, she sighed and reluctantly held her pointer finger out for him to apply the toothpaste.

On Maya and Josh's train the two were searching for Liberty and her "get away" buddy.  
"They're not on this train. Great!" Josh announced, angrily. "This is the most 'Mickey Mouse' assignment we've ever had. I resent it, do you resent it, Hart?"  
"Nope." Maya stated as she kept walking down the aisle way.  
"I do."  
"Just do what I'm told."  
"Yeah? Strip naked." He challenged.  
Maya stopped, an amused smirk on her face, "Oh.. Let me ask you something, Matthews. Do you actually get women like this?"  
"Well actually-" Josh tried to backpedal.  
"No, no, no." Maya cut him off, walking back towards him, "I was really curiously if there are actually women out in the world who walk by the construction lunch break, which is your very personality, and say: 'Oh yeah please baby, give it to me,'" Maya slowly began removing her jacket to emphasize her point, "'Give me some of that hard hat right here right now.' Are there actually women like that?" She asked, stepping even closer to him and looking up at him before walking away.  
"A couple..." Josh muttered before trailing after the small blonde.

Back on Riley and Lucas' train Riley awoke to the sudden sound of a light bang. She opened her eyes to see a man with dark hair and dark eyes looking at her.  
"Hello, sleepy." He greeted when their eyes connected. He removed his giant headphones and placed them around his neck, smiling at her. "Toblerone? It's got almonds." He offered her, holding up the bar.  
"Oh! Uh... gosh, um no thanks... umm," Riley quickly sat up from where she was lying on the bench, "Not really a nut person..." She told him, earning a curious look from Lucas who was still sitting across from her, his arms folded in front of him with one leg propped up.  
"Oh... Hey, don't I know you?" He asked after putting the bar away.  
"Um... No, I don't think so." Riley answered quickly, Lucas eyeing the man suspiciously.  
"Oh... Isaiah Babineaux." He reached his hand out to shake Riley's.  
"Hi, I'm Riley." She introduced sweetly, shaking his hand, "And uh... that's Lucas." Riley added, disinterestedly.  
"Oh, hello." Isaiah reached over to shake the other man's hand and gave a small laugh, "So are you two uh..."  
"No." Lucas stated smugly.  
Riley scoffed at him, annoyed by his attitude, she still didn't even know why he accompanied her if it wasn't because he liked her. "Yeah, um... Lucas, here, accidentally got on this train when he meant to get on the _Night in Shining Armor_ Express." Riley gave him a look which caused Lucas to give her an amused expression.  
"So you're not together?" Isaiah clarified.  
"Definitely not, no." Riley informed him.  
"Whoa! Delight!" The man exclaimed before moving over to sit next to Riley. "So, Riley? Ever made sweet love on a high-speeding train?" He asked her, leaning closer and closer to her, causing Riley to sort of fall back laughing at his behaviour.  
"Sorry, Romeo... Sun's in my eyes." Lucas cut in between the two and forced Isaiah to sit where he was.  
"Oh Mellow yellow, there man. I was just making conversation, no one's looking to snag your travel buddy. In fact, I prefer to float along alone. Just me, my tunes, and my knapsack." Isaiah stated, putting his feet up on the bench across from him, beside Lucas.  
"And your sandals..." Lucas acknowledged. Riley on the other hand, was completely amused by their new acquaintance.  
"You sassing my Air Jesus?"  
"No... don't listen to Lucas, he's just full of himself." Riley told him.  
"Something you two need to talk about?" Isaiah inquired.  
"Oh, no! Lucas's issues are not my problem, he doesn't know anything about me 'cause I'm not some selfish, spoiled brat like he thinks I am."  
"I never said you were selfish." Lucas corrected.  
"You know _nothing_ about my life. Nothing." Riley turned on him.  
"No, I suppose I don't." He remarked, quietly.  
"Whatever." Riley groaned, "It doesn't matter because once this train stops we'll go our separate directions.  
"Hey, Chilly willy, squabblers. Take a few of these on your solo travels, then." Isaiah reached into his bag and handed the two some stickers.  
"What are these?" Lucas inquired as he took them, "Six Million Dollar Man stickers?"  
"These stickers are my contribution to the global community." Isaiah stated matter-of-factly, "Everyone I meet gets a handful. Your job, post them up. Pound one on a door, slap one on a kiosk, place one on a postbox... Wherever your life may lead you."  
"And then what?" Riley asked, intrigued by his gumption.  
"Then... nothing. You forget about the sticker. You move on. One day, maybe you're a little bit down in the dumps, and all of a sudden, there it is! In the corner of a window, the door of a subway, the side of a telephone booth. One of the stickers! And it puts a smile on your face because you know you are not alone in the world. We're all connected."  
Lucas scoffed, muttering to himself how crazy this guy sounded.

On Maya and Josh's Train the two now sat in silence, Maya stuffing her face with a sandwich she had bought. She glanced over at Josh who refused to look at her, focusing all his energy out the window.  
"Want some?" Maya offered him her sandwich, mumbling a bit with the food in her mouth. Josh looked at the sandwich with an unamused expression before returning to staring out the window, Maya smirked and shrugged, more for her.

On Riley and Lucas' train Lucas was sitting in his spot, deep in thought, a _six-million dollar man_ sticker posted behind his head. He tapped his finger to his lip before speaking to Riley.  
"Hey, listen... Sorry I treated you like a child." He said as she looked over at him, "I was just feeling a little bit overprotective." He motioned to the now sleeping Isaiah.  
"Thank you, that's very nice of you," Riley said with a light voice, "but I already have a father."  
Lucas looked at her for a moment before raising his eyebrows, "Yeah..." Isaiah repositioned himself in his sleep, placing his legs further onto Lucas' lap, "Oh god..." Lucas muttered, "Get off." He pushed the sleeping man off of him.  
Isaiah fell to the floor before quickly standing up and sitting between Riley and Lucas, "Rock on, man!" He exclaimed, as he sat down, "Oh, my new friends! Who knows when the fickle finger of fate will bring us together again? Let's take a moment of silent bonding before we reach Venice." Isaiah put his arms around the two, pulling them close and laying his legs over them.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa... Before we get where?" Riley asked in disbelief.

"Okay... So we got on the wrong train, so what?" Riley asked Lucas as the three of them rode along in a River Taxi, "Let's just... make the best of our misfortune."  
"Well our misfortune is gonna last until tomorrow because the next train to Berlin is in the morning..." Lucas informed her.  
"So it's just a bit of a diversion, come on... Enjoy! Take a picture." She told him as they continued to sail down the river. "This! Could be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen!" Riley exclaimed after they got off the boat. Isaiah laughing at her excitement.  
"I'll be with you in just a minute, I just have to make a quick call." Lucas told them as he walked over to a telephone booth while the two went on a head.  
"No worries! Yeah, I'll look after her!" Isaiah called back to Lucas

"Sir, I've got Agent Friar." Eric informed Cory, "They're putting him through now."  
Lucas looked out over the crowd to find Riley, except she was nowhere to be found. He quickly scanned the crowd but he didn't spot her, "For god's sakes... Riley!" He exclaimed before dropping the phone and going off looking for her.  
"Hello? Friar! Friar!" Eric's voice called over the phone, "We lost him." He informed Cory.  
"Great..." Cory said, faking a smile for the cameras that were taking pictures of him outside the White House.  
"We do know that call came in from Venice." Eric continued.  
"Matthews and Hart are already half way to Berlin, damn it."  
"We can get Matthews and Hart in Venice in a few hours." Shawn offered.  
"We can also have agents covering the city in minutes."  
"No, no, no I do not wanna cause a scene." Cory said, "Just get them to Venice and keep calling Friar." Cory entered the Limo waiting for him.

"Riley!" Lucas called, running down the streets, searching for the President's daughter. He climbed up a few stairs over a small bridge, checking both sides, "Riley!"  
Isaiah came running out of a tourist shop with a silly hat on his head, Riley came stumbling after him with a sailors hat on, the two laughing. She looked up the road to see Lucas standing on a bridge with his back toward them, "Lucas!" She called with a smile on her face. "Come on! Venice awaits! Where've you been?"  
Lucas shook his head, "Just having a mild heart attack," he muttered to himself as he walked over toward the two.

* * *

Another quick note! Typing Isaiah all the time is kind of weird because he goes by Zay but since he was a stranger it didn't make sense to call him "Zay" that will change later on though.


	8. Venice

The three embarked on their day trip, Lucas was taking pictures while Riley and Isaiah were goofing off around Venice, Riley got herself a kitty mask and Isaiah got a silly clown-like mask that he held up to his face with a stick.  
Meanwhile, Maya and Josh were flying over Venice in a Helicopter, Maya smiling the whole way, "Wow!" She exclaimed, tapping Josh on the shoulder and pointing for him to look out her window. Josh looked but kept a neutral expression, Maya smiled at him before looking back out the window, she glanced at him again but noticed his facial expression and did a double take, her expression changing from joy to disappointment. Josh looked back out his window, his face unchanging.

The three were now walking down an outdoor food market, Riley leading the way, she glanced over her shoulder and shared a smile with Isaiah, Lucas bringing up the rear. They made their way over to a tattoo parlor, Lucas waited outside and played with his camera.  
Isaiah bounced out of the parlor with some fresh ink on his skin, "Check it out!" He flexed for Lucas who nodded disinterestedly.  
Riley came out with her hand over her shoulder, "Check it out!" She said as Lucas looked at her, his face dropping, She lifted her hand to reveal still pure skin, no ink had tainted her body, "You're so gullible." She placed her hand on his forearm and gave it a little shake. The three of them continued on their adventure, Lucas and Isaiah got distracted by the beautiful Venice women and began following them, Riley had to chase after them and pull them back.  
Lucas looked somewhat offended but began walking back with Riley, snapping a quick picture of the women before turning around, Isaiah on the other hand couldn't peal his eyes away from them. Lucas tapped him on the arm and woke him out of it, He then gave a small wave goodbye to the women who didn't even see him.

The three came across a small clothing boutique and Riley tapped Isaiah to join her inside.  
"Ohh, Shopping!" He exclaimed before quickly following Riley inside, Lucas very much felt like he was babysitting these two and slowly walked toward the entrance, with the intentions of waiting outside again. Riley grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the boutique as well. A little while later the three emerged from the shop, Lucas was the first one out, not having bought anything. He raised his camera to his face as Isaiah once more bounced out of the shop but this time struck a pose with his new clothes. A intricately patterned dress shirt and a pair of sunglasses. Riley came out next wearing an orange and grey striped T-shirt and a pair of loose blue Capri's. Posing for Lucas who snapped the picture.  
Lucas continued taking pictures of the two together in Venice until Riley snatched his camera away from him and insisted on getting some pictures of him as well, she ordered him to stand a distance away and took a picture of him where he was constantly telling her to give him back his camera, then she handed the camera to Isaiah and stood next to Lucas. Putting her arm around his shoulders.  
"Smile!" She instructed him, looking up at him with a smile of her own.  
"I am smiling." He told her smugly.  
"No you're not." Riley argued, cheekily.  
The two bickered some more before Riley laughed and he smiled at the camera.

"Gracias." Maya thanked the man helping her out of the boat they had been on in search of Riley, "I say we hit all the tourist spots, Riley's gonna wanna see the sights." She instructed.  
"Whatever you say." Josh deadpanned as he walked away from her.  
Maya rolled her eyes and followed Josh's direction, "Alright, come on, knock it off!" She exclaimed as they walked down the streets, noting Josh's attitude.  
"Knock what off?" he questioned, "I'm not doing anything."  
"That's what I'm talking about, what's the problem?"  
"No problem," Josh scoffed, "No problem... Here in the construction lunch break that is my vary personality I'm adding on a sensitivity wing."  
"Alright, come on, I didn't really mean any of that." Maya told him.  
"Yeah, you did." Josh stated, knowing her better than that.  
"Well mostly I did, yeah." Maya smiled at herself, she glanced up at Josh who seemed less amused but she continued her cheeky smile anyway.

"It looks good to me." Riley stated as her and Isaiah looked over a menu outside of the outdoor restaurant, Isaiah's head peaking over her shoulder.  
"No gelato!" Isaiah exclaimed, "I need to refuel my belly with some tasty yumminess. I'll get it to go and meet you back here."  
"Okay." Riley nodded at him.  
"So nice to make new friends. Group hug!" Isaiah held out his arms to Riley and Lucas.  
Riley giggled and walked over to Isaiah, wrapping her arms around his neck in a sweet embrace. "Oh... Sweetness." She stated.  
"Ah... Lucas?" Isaiah called to the boy.  
"Come on." Riley encouraged, her arm around Isaiah's back and his around hers.  
"Come on! Join in the hug, Lucas."We've got a chicky-buffer here!"  
"I'm a chicky-buffer." Riley shrugged.  
"Chicky-buffer negates the potential for man-touching-man discomfort!" Isaiah explained.  
Riley laughed, "Lucas! Hug us!" She pleaded. "Please? Please, please?"  
Lucas smirked at their little skit, "Quickly, very quickly." He stated as he hesitantly walked toward the two odd-balls.  
Riley resumed hugging Isaiah and Lucas came up behind Riley and wrapped his arms around the two, resting his head on her shoulder.  
"Oh! Delight!" Isaiah exclaimed causing Riley to laugh before they released one another and he took off in pursuit of his Gelato.

Riley and Lucas had finished their dinner and Lucas was once more standing a little bit away from the table, fidgeting with his camera.  
"I wonder where Zay is?" Riley laughed after taking a sip of drink.  
"Probably off taking a bath in Canal water." Lucas offered.  
"Please, come on, can you just admit for once that you've had a little bit of fun?" Riley asked, lifting her fork in the air.  
Lucas held up two fingers indicating about an inch, "Maybe a little bit of fun."  
A waiter came by and placed their cheque on their table.  
"Gracias." Riley thanked the waiter before shoving her last piece of dessert in her mouth.  
Lucas snapped a picture of her, "Very attractive." He informed her sarcastically.  
"Very funny." Riley stared at him. Riley looked over to see other tourists taking pictures with a street performer and smiled slightly, she looked back at Lucas who had now sat down across from her and reached for her purse to pay for her dinner. "Lucas. Lucas, I have stickers, I have no wallet. I think Zay stole from me."  
"Alright, calm down don't make a scene." Lucas tried to reason with her.  
"No, I have stickers! Stickers! No money!"  
"I have..." Lucas reached into his back pocket, "stickers... damn it."  
The tourists had now began to notice the two and some even recognized Riley.  
"Listen... I have to go right now-" Riley took notice of the tourists approaching them  
"I'll talk to the manager-"  
"I can't explain myself right now, but I... thank you so much for everything you've done for me, I have to go I'll see you later, thank you!" Riley ran away from the tourists.  
"Here we go again!" Lucas said to himself before grabbing his stuff and chasing after Riley.  
"There she is. Riley!" Maya called from a passing boat.  
"Riley!" Josh called as well, "Pull this thing over."

Two waiters and a police man were now chasing after Riley and Lucas as they ducked down alleyways. They were yelling at them in Venetian as they tried to catch the two, eventually losing track of them and splitting up. Maya and Josh following the waiters.  
Riley and Lucas ducked underneath a bridge beside the stairwell, Lucas had his arm out in front of Riley to hold her back and Riley kept her finger to her mouth in a "shushing" fashion.  
"Eh... Gondola?" A gondolieri asked the two.  
"Yes," Riley told the man, only to have Lucas reject the offer at the same time, they looked at each other.  
"Ah Gracias! My first customer, hm? See, the other gondolieri, they put me here, but nobody visit. I tell them 'nobody come to my bridge.' They say, 'somebody will, Harley.' And now you are here!" He told the two excitedly.  
"We don't have any money..." Riley informed him cautiously.  
"Well then, I'm sorry." Harley began to turn away from the two.  
"But sir... We're newly-weds." Riley thought on her feet, "Right, honey?" She asked, placing her hand on his cheek and kissing the other one.  
"That's right, sweetums." Lucas played along, smirking at her.  
"Precious, I just... _love_ it when you call me that."  
"Your love, it's beautiful... but no money, no ride." Harley informed them as Riley wrapped her arms around Lucas' shoulders and smiled at him.  
"Sir, please! We were married against my parent's wishes."  
"We tried to stay apart, but it was no good."  
"Exactly! Because I would rather die than live another day without my lover... man."  
"We have nothing but we have everything."  
"We've come so far on only the currency of... young love." Lucas gave her a look and she simply nodded at him  
"If sweet stories could buy pasta, you'd be very fat by now." Harley said.  
"Thank you."  
"All right, yes. For you, the canals are free tonight. My first cliente. Momma, would be so proud!"  
"On second thought..." Lucas began to walk away but heard the shouts of their pursuers and turned back around, "After you... darling." He said, helping Riley into the boat.  
"And uh... let me remember, where does this go?" Harley asked, Riley and Lucas looked at him, "Just kidding! My first joke with my first customer!" He said before he began singing.  
"We did good, huh?" Riley asked Lucas quietly.  
"I was a little worried when you went to 'the currency of young love.' But apart from that, you were fairly magnificent." Lucas smiled at her.  
"Thank you."  
"Pleasure."  
"You know, I just married you, but I know nothing about you." Riley looked at him earnestly.  
Lucas smirked, "There's not much to know." He told her but Riley continued to look at him with an intrigued smile on her face, "Okay," he gave in, "Lucas Friar, 19-years-old, born in Texas and moved to America with my mother when she left my father. My father... was always at work and never at home... my mother wanted him to make _the big gesture_."  
"What's the big gesture?" Riley asked, very much interested in his story, her face softening as he let her in.  
"You know, 'I'll quit for you,' 'I'll stay home for you...'" Lucas glanced at Riley, "Darling." He added on with a boyish smile. "But he didn't... because, well people don't really do that..."  
"I don't really know what people do." Riley told him and he smiled at her, staring at her a bit too long before looking away.

* * *

 **(A/N)** Okay, I was racking my brain trying to figure out who to put as the Gondileri and was coming up empty handed, so I went with Harley because I thought it'd add more humour. Please leave a review if you enjoy what you're reading and expect a new chapter in a couple days.


	9. Newlyweds

**(A/N)** Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter is a little later posted than my usual time, I was at a convention up until now. Here is the new chapter! This chapters was one of my favourites to write but there is an even better chapter still to come later on! I hope you enjoy and if you do feel free to leave a review and let me know, I appreciate every single one!

* * *

"Thank you, Lucas" Riley said quietly as the two were still riding along the river in the Gondola.  
"What for?" Lucas asked, glancing at her.  
"I couldn't have down any of this without you." Riley told him sincerely.  
Lucas chuckled to himself, "Seems to me you'd have been just fine on your own." The two looked at one another for a long time, not saying anything. Finally Riley smiled to herself and looked away, feeling shy. Lucas looked out ahead of them, only to see the two waiters from the restaurant go running over the bridge they were about to go under, with Riley not paying attention he had to think fast on feet and as he looked over at the passing boat he noticed they were kissing. He had no other option as he had to hide Riley from them, so he leaned over and kissed her, blocking her face from them with the back of his head.  
Riley was surprised by the kiss, all her life she'd been around boys too shy to make the first move, so long she'd been practicing her 'of course you can kiss me' and now Lucas Friar had just reached over and done it without even thinking about it. She was very much caught off guard but she enjoyed it none the less as she returned his kiss, feeling him wrap one arm around her back and the other one cupping the side of her head.  
"Ahh Amore, such a beautiful thing. I'll take you back to your hotel now, hey?" Harley asked them once the two pulled away, Lucas lingering a little more than he'd want to.  
"Oh actually we don't... have a hotel..." Riley told him, looking from Lucas to their driver.  
Harley was shocked by Riley's confession, "Newlyweds, first not money and now no place to... to stay!" Riley looked at Lucas, a smile never leaving her face, "You stay at my home! You can meet my mama, she will be so happy!"

Harley pulled up in front of his home with the two 'newlyweds.'  
"No Harley!" His mother yelled from the window, saying more in Venetian that Riley and Lucas couldn't understand.  
"Mama, please... be nice..."  
"Why did I let you buy that crazy boat?" She yelled at him. "You were good accountant, now you're killing me."  
"Mama, they're Newlyweds!" Harley told her.

"Newlyweds!" The woman exclaimed in a happier tone, Riley nodded at the woman, smiling while biting her bottom lip, Lucas's arm was behind her against on top of a small pillar, wondering what he got himself into.  
"Oh, Harley, this is so kind of you." Riley said as they walked toward the front door of his home.  
"You're welcome!"  
The woman exchanged happy words to the couple as they entered, nothing the two could understand because it was all in Venetian, The woman held out her arms and gave Riley a tight hug, "Tonight you are family! You must stay and celebrate. You will sleep in Harley's room. It will bring him luck." She told them as Riley went off to explore their home.  
"Oh no, that's not necessary..." Lucas tried to argue.  
"Harley, go change the sheets." His mother instructed him. "I want you to try some of my grappa. Tell me your names."  
"Well, I'm Lucas. And this is..." Lucas looked after Riley who was standing in the next room, he put his bag down and walked over to where she was standing, staring at the TV that had her father making a speech, "Riley?" He called as he approached her.

"Okay, let's just... check with the Local police." Maya said to Josh after having searched for Riley for hours.  
"To answer your question, no. I don't get women that way." Josh told her, still not over their exchange from the train. "Haven't actually had a girlfriend since... well let's just say that uh, women stopped beating down my door about the same time the bank stopped covering the receding hair line."  
"Well, stop overcompensating, you're a good-looking... You look fine some women like a bald head."  
"I'm not bald yet."  
"I'm just saying you should embrace it. Maybe you could cut it really short or something, some girls like that, they think its sexy." Maya told him, feeling slightly self-conscious as to where the conversation was heading, she wasn't one to open up or let people in. Josh stared at her, a little dumbfounded and she just let out an exasperated breath before carrying on to look for Riley.

Riley had just left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body, she slowly turned around to look at Lucas who had been staring out the window and slowly turned to look at her, both seemingly anxious.  
"So..." Lucas dragged his eyes away from Riley and turned off one of the lamps, picking up some pillows, "I'm going to sleep on the floor, which means that you can have the bed to yourself." He explained, putting the pillows on the floor next to the bed.  
"...no, you don't have to do that, there's plenty of room here for both." Riley objected, rubbing her hand along the blanket behind her.  
"No, no, see it's fine, you know I-I prefer the floor." Lucas told her, "Because it's just a bit um... lower, which I like, so... yeah." He pulled off his shirt, his back facing Riley. He could feel her eyes burning into his skin. He began to undo his pants but then stopped, thinking better of it given the situation.  
"Oh, come on, don't be shy! It's our wedding night." Riley teased, "Lucas..." She called, trying to get him to stop being so uncomfortable around her.  
"Good night, then." He said, lowering himself onto the ground, shirtless but with his bottoms still on. Lucas tensed as he felt Riley come lie down beside him, she began shifting closer and he immediately got up.  
"Where are you going?" Riley asked, confused by his sudden movement.  
"Riley... go to bed." He told her, not looking at her.  
"Well I'm trying to..." She murmured as she stood up as well to face Lucas.  
"Over there." He motioned with his head, still not looking at Riley completely.  
"But Lucas... we-we kissed-"  
"And I understand that." Lucas walked away from her.  
"No, no, and I liked it, and I like you." Riley placed her hand on his back, following him inside their room. "And will you stop walking away from me!"  
"Riley!"  
"You don't need to protect me!" Riley let out a sigh as she reached for the towel wrapped around her body, "I know what I'm doing."  
"No, you don't-" Lucas turned around to look at her, only to find a naked Riley standing before him, "can you, _please_ stop taking your clothes off around me." He said, grabbing the carpet from the floor and wrapping it around her body, securing it behind her waist, holding it there.  
"What's wrong with you?" Riley demanded, looking up at him.  
"Listen Riley, the only thing that happened on that gondola was me trying to hide you so we wouldn't get arrested, there was nothing else."  
"That was a real kiss!" Riley argued.  
"No, it wasn't." Lucas countered quickly.  
"I don't believe you."  
"Well it's the truth. I told you, we're just two people travelling in the same direction."  
Riley looked at him, searching his face for anything to indicate that he was lying. She felt horribly rejected and had to fight back the tears forming in her eyes. "So you didn't... feel... anything?"  
"No," Lucas told her, looking her straight in the eye, his voice softer now, "I didn't feel anything. So then will you _please_ just get into bed?" His voice was now a whisper as he slowly moved the carpet from around Riley's waist and raised it above his head so she could make her way to the bed, respectfully.  
"Naked virgin safely in bed." Riley stated.  
Lucas glanced over the rug to make sure she was in fact in bed before he lowered it back to the ground. Riley reached over and turned off the last lamp and the two laid there quietly until they eventually fell asleep.

"Yes, sir... no I understand that, Mr. President. D-don't worry... we're gonna find her." Josh nodded at Maya as the two walked up some stairs. "Yes sir... and did I mention how ridiculous of an idea this was to begin with, sir? One-one of your stupidest." Maya gave him a stern look, "He hung up before any of that." He told her. "You take a look at this view?"  
"Is Riley in it?"  
"No."  
"Let's keep moving." Maya started to walk away.  
"I'm not leaving this spot until you take a moment to appreciate this." Josh said, Maya stopped and reluctantly joined Josh where he was standing, "You know, it's not enough just to be gorgeous, Hart, you have to learn to appreciate something gorgeous too."  
"Mhmm. Nice to have you back, Matthews." She retorted and the two took a moment just to stare at each other before Maya looked out over the view from the bridge they were standing on.  
"I'd like to take a moment to give thanks Riley, who ran away from her parents, jumped on a train to Venice instead of Berlin, thus giving us the opportunity to witness this glorious sight. Amen."  
"You finished?" Maya asked, slightly amused and slightly annoyed, Josh held up one finger, indicating his moment was not over yet. He began speaking a prayer in Hebrew, causing Maya to laugh "Oh come on."  
He also starting beat boxing along with it, which caused Maya to laugh more, "It's hip-hop Hebrew." He explained.

The next morning Riley and Lucas came down from the room they had slept in, Riley was very much upset with Lucas and didn't want to talk with him.  
"You had a good night?" Harley's mother asked, winking at them.  
"Yes, great. Thank you." Lucas replied as Riley walked over to the woman and gave her a hug.  
Thank you so much for your hospitality.  
"But you were very quiet, the walls are very thin, but I hear nothing." The older woman added.  
"Oh, that's just because he is _repelled_ by me." Riley told the woman after she went and stood beside Lucas again. Lucas rolled his eyes and gave Riley an unamused look.  
"But it's not true!" The woman exclaimed, "Tell her she is a beautiful woman."  
Riley rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, looking at Lucas, who in return looked her in the eyes and told her she is a beautiful woman.  
"And kiss her! Ah, come on! You want a happy marriage, you've gotta kiss her every day!"  
Lucas leaned in to give Riley a kiss but she turned away from him and walked out of the room, "It's okay, we'll work it out."  
"Mama, where are the keys?" Harley asked, searching his pockets for his car keys.  
"You're driving with Harley?" The woman scoffed, "You better kiss her now!"


	10. Austria

Harley's driving was a little careless as they nearly avoided swerving around a man on a bike, he stopped and yelled out an apology to the man. Riley took this as an opportunity to get out of the car and was going to walk the rest of the way if she had to. She was still very unhappy with Lucas, feeling hurt and rejected.  
She got out of the car and slammed the door behind her, "Thank you, darling!" Lucas called after her before he opened the door again so he could climb out of the small vehicle.  
"Harley, thank you so much for everything, I wish I had something else to offer you." Riley told him as she made her way around the vehicle to his window and handed him a sticker.  
"Oh, Million Dollar Man! It's a wonderful gift." He said before glancing over at Lucas, "Beautiful couple. Take care of each other, hmm?"  
Riley nodded with a smile before watching Harley drive off down the road and then turned the other direction and began walking briskly.  
Lucas jogged over to catch up to Riley, placing his hand on her back to get her attention, "Hey-"  
"Don't touch me." Riley barked at him without looking his way.  
Lucas slowed to a stop, he hadn't meant to hurt Riley, he was only trying to do his job and protect her and now he had pushed her away in fear of getting too attached to his assignment. He let out a sigh before walking after Riley, a few feet behind her.

"Gracias, Seniora." Maya said to the woman offering her more tea. She and Josh were sitting in Harley and his mother's home. The two continued speaking to one another in Spanish.  
"English, por favor." Josh piped up, wanting to understand what the two women were discussing.  
"It's Spanish, Matthews." Maya leaned over to him, "Ms. Keiner, about Harley..."  
"He was a good accountant! Why he-"  
"He was last seen with these people." Josh grabbed the pictures of Riley and Lucas from his bag.  
"Ah yes... The newlyweds!" She exclaimed. Maya and Josh stared at her in disbelief.  
The two had left the house and were now walking down the street, "I say we don't tell him unless we have something _really_ good to go with it." Maya stated, shocked and confused. "Like we find Riley and say 'here's your daughter, sorry Mr. President, she's married.'"  
"God this is bad, it was bad before, but now it's beyond bad!" Josh rattled off. "Yup, this is pretty much as bad as it gets." Maya put her arm around Josh to comfort him, "Oh now you touch me?" He questioned and Maya slowly removed her arm.

Outside of the Whitehouse Cory and Topanga walked under an umbrella toward a limo waiting for them.  
"They just crossed the border into Austria," Shawn informed Cory.  
"Matthews and Hart are en route." Eric chimed in.  
"We've had no contact with Friar since yesterday."  
"Enough of this." Cory stated, "I want a full contingent of that Love Parade."  
"Cory, how could you let this happen?" Topanga asked through a fake smile and a wave to passersby.  
"I don't know. It happened."  
"Uh sir, there's one more thing..." Eric said.  
"What else?" Cory demanded. Eric opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, he looked to Shawn for help.  
"We think they're married."

Riley crossed her arms, deliberating whether or not to ask Lucas the questions she had on her mind, "So... what is it, do you have a girlfriend? I mean is that who you called yesterday?" She asked as she shook her head, not looking back at him.  
"No, no girlfriend." He told her.  
"Okay... well if you didn't like girls you could've just said something to me." Riley was trying to come up with excuses for Lucas' behaviour.  
Lucas scoffed at how ridiculous Riley was reaching, "Hey listen, I like girls." He stated with a hint of sass.  
Riley finally turned around and walked back to where Lucas was a few paces behind, "Oh okay so you're just not attracted to this one - no, no, no that's okay because this whole time I thought I was alone because I never had any opportunities, because I never had any privacy but thank you! Thank you so much for proving to me wrong, I needed that!" She stormed off in front of him once more.  
"Riley, believe me, this is not about you..." Lucas paused, looking for the right words, "Romance is simply not a feasible option for me right now." He knew it sounded dumb the moment the words left his lips but he couldn't take them back now.  
"Oh my god, kill me now! I can't even attract some guy who says stupid things like 'Romance is not a feasible option.' You know what?" Riley once again turned around and came up to Lucas, "The joke is on you my friend because I was just messing around with you last night, I _never_ would've gone through with it."  
"Of course you wouldn't."  
Riley, once again walked off in front, a vehicle passed her and she called for them to stop.  
"Riley don't!" Lucas called as he tried to catch up to her to stop her.  
Riley asked the two men sitting on the back of the truck if she could hitch a ride with them, in German, and the two helped her up into the bed.  
"Riley... Riley!" Lucas called, his force growing more fierce as he ran after the truck, "Oh come on!"  
The truck sped away with Riley sitting in between the two strangers, she waved as she watched Lucas grow smaller and smaller, "Bye-bye."  
Lucas dropped his bag and eventually came to a stop as he couldn't catch up to the truck, he kicked the ground in front of him in defeat, "Unbelievable." He muttered, shaking his head at Riley's recklessness, before he took off after the truck once more.

The truck eventually came to a stop at a farm and the two men helped Riley out of the bed where she spoke with another man who wished her good luck on her travels but they could not take her any further.  
Lucas smiled in relief as he saw the truck come back down the road, Riley had changed her mind and came back for him... or so he thought, for they passed him with a wave and there was no Riley Matthews sitting in the back of the truck. "Shit!" He panicked once more and took off in the direction he hoped she still was. He came across a young boy riding a bike and stopped him, requesting the use of the bike and paid the kid with what money he had left. Now riding the bike as a faster way of reaching Riley.

Riley came across a bridge where a yellow van was parked and a group of people were standing around. One man was standing on the other side of the railing along the bridge, "He's gonna jump..." Riley said to herself as she picked up her pace to try and stop him, "No, no, no! Somebody stop him!"  
"Bungee!" Someone exclaimed as the man let go of the bridge and fell into the water, attached to a bungee cord. Riley let out a sigh of relief and placed her hand over her heart.  
"You found us on the internet?" A slightly taller man with dark brown hair with green eyes approached her, " ?"  
"No..." Riley smiled at him, shaking her head, as she did so she caught a glimpse of a familiar person out of the corner of her eyes, "...Zay?"  
"Delight!" Zay exclaimed as he was getting hooked up to jump next.  
"Zay!" Riley called when her suspicion was correct.  
Zay looked to see her called after him and was surprised to see Riley, "Ah, look, my reasons were noble!" He tried explaining.  
"I trusted you!" Riley practically pleaded at the man.  
"I needed the scratch." He said as he climbed over the railing, "What can I say? Please forgive. Three. Two. One. Bungee!" He let go of the railing and leaned forward with his arms stretched.  
Riley was frustrated by the man but she couldn't help but laugh as Zay got pulled out of the water and then dipped back down again by the cord.

Lucas had made his way to the bridge by bike, "Whoa! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" He called as he saw what Riley was about to do. She was hooked up to the bungee cord, getting strapped in tighter to keep her safe as she waited to be next. Lucas dropped the bike and ran over to where Riley was standing, throwing his bag off his back in the process, "Are you crazy? What are you doing?" He demanded.  
"Get away from me, I'm jumping and you can't stop me."  
"Ah hell..." Lucas said before he found himself strapped to Riley, if she was gonna jump, he was going to jump with her. Riley was holding onto Lucas out of fear, her breathing growing more desperate with the fear. "So if you're scared, why do it?" He asked, not reprimanding her or even in a condescending way, but genuinely curious.  
"Because the things you're scared of are usually the most worth while... just a theory..." Riley looked down at the water once more, "You know what? Actually, my dad taught me that."  
Lucas looked at her, a small smile forming on his face, "Hold tight." He told her quietly and as Riley leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him, he did the same. As the two leaned their wait over the water and felt the ground leave their feet. Riley screamed as they descended and Lucas couldn't help but laugh.  
When they had stopped and were swinging in mid air Riley laughed, "Hi."  
"Hi." Lucas smiled at her, "Here we go." He said before undoing the latch that attached them to the cord and they fell into the water where a boat came and picked them.  
"I can't believe we did that!" Riley yelled before swimming over to the boat.  
"Check that out," Lucas pointed up to where the bridge was to show just how far they had jumped.  
"Holy. Crap."

* * *

 **(A/N)** Hey guys! This chapter was a little angsty, I know but don't worry the next chapter will certainly make up for it and I honestly can't wait to write it and have you guys read it. It will be my favourite chapter, hands down, but until then please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter! Zay returned! Will they forgive them for stealing from them? And who is the bungee jumping guy who spoke to Riley? Find out next chapter! Haha


	11. Connections and Lost Time

**(A/N)** PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! My Internet was down all of yesterday and I couldn't put up the new chapter! It was killing me not to post it and I felt like I let everyone down! Hopefully this chapter will make up for the late factor as it is one of my favourites. Please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter.

* * *

Riley and Lucas were sitting at a bonfire with the rest of the crew from the 'Jumping Germans.' One girl was playing a guitar and singing a song neither of them had heard before. Lucas made s'mores next to the pit before walking over to where Riley was a few feet away.  
"Yeah, you better stay out there." Lucas remarked as he past Zay sitting in a tree that had fallen over, over a river, and sat next to Riley.  
"You know, we _needed_ that money." Riley added, glancing over her shoulder at him.  
"You guys got it all wrong!" Zay called, "I gave most of it back, besides that money was for love. Look, I've been traipsing all over this stinking country looking for a girl I never even met! We made goo-goo eyes from like thirty metres, but our eyes locked. We connected. Which is next to impossible in this world!" Riley looked back over her shoulder and smiled at Zay, she knew all too well what he was talking about. "You know that. You can't let a feeling like that pass you by!" He added.  
"Wow." Riley whispered, nodding at Zay's words.  
Lucas couldn't take his eyes of her, "You'd hug him all over again, wouldn't you?" He smirked.  
Zay took the last chug of his beer before chucking it into the river, but he lost his balance and fell into the water. "I'm alright! I'm alright!" He yelled after he resurfaced.  
Lucas couldn't help but laugh at how goofy this guy was, he was quite the character, and finally gave Riley her s'more. Riley glanced at him with a devilish grin on her face before peeling apart her s'more and wiping the marshmallow down Lucas' cheek and giggled.  
"Just so you know, that's incredible hot." He told her which only caused Riley to laugh more.  
"Oh, I'm sorry." Riley feigned sympathy before stroking his cheek to remove the marshmallow, maintaining eye contact with Lucas the whole time.  
The man from earlier approached the two, and greeted them in German.  
"Oh, hi. Charlie-Charlie." Riley said after tearing her eyes away from Lucas.  
"Charlie-Charlie." Lucas repeated, "So much of you, they had to name you twice."  
"I uh, thought you might need this." Charlie-Charlie stated before tossing a sleeping bag at Lucas.  
"Thanks." Lucas remarked.  
"So..." Charlie-Charlie looked back at Riley before motioning to a tent behind him and returning his attention to her, "Yes?"  
"So... No." Riley shook her head, not interested in his offer. Charlie-Charlie shook his head before walking off away from the two.  
"You know, for a girl who claims to be terminally alone... you sure do get a lot of offers." Lucas noted.  
"And rejections." Riley added, looking at him, Lucas looked away from her. "Right... You know what? I'm tired of living my life just in theory... I think I'm gonna go talk to Charlie-Charlie." Riley stated before getting up to follow in the direction the other man went.  
"Oh, come on." Lucas spat and Riley turned to look at him, "You can't seriously be attracted to that walking... oaf."  
"I don't know," Riley mused, "I could kind of see myself living in the mountains raising children, little Riley's and Charlie's." Riley began walking toward Charlie-Charlie again.  
"Riley, don't!" Lucas got up from where he was sitting.  
"Why not?" She asked him, tired of the game they were playing.  
"Because... I don't trust him." Lucas said lamely. Riley rolled her eyes and walked away from him again, "Because I don't think he's remotely good enough for you." Lucas walked after her.  
"Yeah right."  
"Because, up until the last three days I was perfectly content with my life of solitary adventure and then you came along and... well, you came along and those two things seemed mutually exclusive."  
Riley stopped walking, "Lucas." She faced him, "Can you ever just say what you _really_ feel?" Riley asked him desperately, Lucas looked at her, unsure of how to answer and Riley sighed before trying to walk away again.  
"Okay, Alright!" Lucas finally gave in, "Because... I'm jealous as hell! Because I'd hate to see you with Charlie-Charlie- I'd hate to see you with any other man because... not only did I adore kissing you in Venice but also because," Lucas grabbed Riley and turned her to look at him, "I am so unbelievably unhinged just being near you."  
Riley stared at him, searching his eyes for any trace of a lie, hoping to god he was telling the truth, she slowly moved her hand away from herself and went to reach for Lucas. Only to have him cup her face and kiss her, she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him back. They were interrupted by Lucas' phone ringing.  
"I guess you fixed it, huh?" Riley asked, pushing her hair behind her ear.  
Lucas looked at the phone and then back at Riley before chucking it over his shoulder, which caused Riley to smile, "Riley..." he whispered before they resumed kissing once more.

It was the next morning and Lucas had woken up to the sound of his phone ringing in the distance, he went searching for it in only his vibe boxers. When he finally found his phone he knew he was going to be in such trouble for not answering his phone last night.  
"Friar." He answered.  
"Where the hell have you been?" Josh said on the other end of the phone.  
"Hey listen, Matthews, she's here and she's safe." Lucas barked at him.  
"Friar, we've been trying to reach you. Your orders changed."  
"What are you talking about?" Lucas demanded, confused.  
"I'm talking about your assignment has been over since the moment you jumped on that train to Venice." Josh informed him.  
"What?" Lucas was shocked.  
"Lucas?" Riley called from where she was just waking up, clutching the sleeping bag to her naked chest.  
"I'll be right there." He told her, she nodded and smiled at him, "I gotta go man, I gotta go." Lucas said quieter into the phone.  
"You gotta bring this girl in immediately, alright? Okay, we've got a plan."  
"I promised I'd take her to the Parade." Lucas whispered urgently.  
"Friar, listen to me-"  
"I've got really bad reception here. I gotta-" Lucas hung up the phone.  
"Who was there?" Riley asked as Lucas walked back to where she was sitting, still clutching the blanket around herself.  
"Just some friends from Prague wondering where I am." Lucas told her as he crouched down in front of her. Riley nodded and then met his lips in a gentle kiss. Lucas's phone rang once more and he looked down at it before chucking it into the ashes of the bonfire.

"He's gonna take her to the parade!" Josh shouted as he threw his beanie on the ground.  
"I guess we're going to the parade." Maya remarked before noting the difference in Josh and stared at him in wonder.  
"What?" He asked, a slight smirk on his face. "What?"  
"You did this for me, right?" She asked with a smile, noticing Josh had cut his hair.  
"What this?" He formed scissors with his fingers, "What, no. I didn't do this for you. What?"  
"Really?"  
"No, it's uh... I got- I got tired of stylin' it, you know and-"  
"Oh... Okay... It's uh... It's kinda sexy." She told him.  
Josh stared at her and smiled, causing a small smile to spread across Maya's lips as well, he hesitated for a moment before leaning in and gently placing his lips on hers. Maya watched him and hesitantly kissed him back and the two seemed to lose themselves in the moment, years of tension finally being released.  
Josh pulled away, "Sorry... s-sorry." As he pulled away Maya still wanted to keep kissing him and sort of fell into him before she could catch her balance. "I saw an opening so I went for it." He informed her.  
Josh went to walk away but Maya grabbed his arm and stared at him, he looked back at her, in disbelief before leaning in and kissing her more confidently, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek and Maya placed her hand on his shoulder as she stood on her tiptoes. The two kissed to make up for lost time, Riley Matthews being the furthest thing from either of their minds.

Riley and Lucas sat in front of the river in the morning light, Lucas had one leg propped up as he rested his arm on it while he played with Riley's hair.  
"You have cute morning hair." He said with a sweet smile on his face.  
"You've got cute everything." Riley beamed before leaning in and kissing Lucas once more. "Hey, Zay!" She called over her shoulder into the tent behind them.  
"Yeah?" He mumbled as he poked his head out.  
"You wanna go to the Love Parade and see if your mystery girl is there?" She asked him slyly.  
"Rock on!" He gave her a thumbs up.

"Sir! We just heard from Weiss, Riley and Friar are going to the Berlin Love Parade." Shawn informed Cory as he and Topanga were walking through a park.  
"Get to Berlin." Cory stated as if it were obvious.  
"Yes, Sir." Shawn and Eric said before taking off.

* * *

 **(Another A/N)** Can we all agree on how awkward "Charlie-Charlie" is? Let us have a collective cringe! The original character in the movie is named "Gus-Gus" and I loved the _So much of you_ line too much not to keep it in the story. No worries, that is the last we see of Sir. Charlie-Charlie... _**Major cringe!**_


	12. Berlin Love Parade

**(A/N)** Hey guys, sorry the updates have been a little less consistent, I am still sick and have been for three weeks now so getting the motivation to actually get up and type an entire chapter is a little daunting but I did manage to write one today for you all! Please be patient and understand that I am trying to do my best in spite of my illness. There should be one, maybe two more chapters left in the story as we are coming to the end of the movie. Please favourite or review if you liked this chapter and let me know what you think. Thanks everyone! :*

* * *

Berlin. The Love Parade. Millions of people crowding the streets in strange costumes, rainbow garb, painted skin, some barely wearing any clothes but everyone was dancing and enjoying themselves as the DJ played upbeat pop music. Riley, wearing a princess tiara, was leading her small group through the crowd of people.  
"Riley!" She heard a familiar voice call her name.  
Riley looked in the direction the voice came from and waved as she saw Missy Bradford standing a little ways away from them, "Hey!" She exclaimed as she lead Zay over to the girl. "Oh my god! Missy I never thought I'd find you!" The two girls squealed as they embraced.  
"You made it!" Missy shouted over the music. "I was so worried! Where were you?"  
"You have no idea what it took us to get here!" Riley laughed.  
Missy looked over at Zay who was awestruck by her, "Do I know you?" She asked.  
"My name is Isaiah Babineaux and I know how to make a woman feel like she's wearing laundry fresh from the dryer." He stated.  
"Missy Bradford." She giggled at how silly the boy was before looking back at Riley, "Is he okay?"  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Just um... hold onto your wallets." Riley answered and Missy nodded.  
"Nice to meet you." She extended her hand to the oddball.  
"Enchanté." Zay grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips and kissed it.  
"Uh... Zay, what about your mystery girl?" Riley questioned.  
"What girl?" Zay asked in response.  
Missy chuckled before grabbing Riley and pulling her away from Zay for a moment, "Okay, you are glowing. Sex?"  
"No. Love!" She pointed to the direction where Lucas was standing at a payphone and he waved from where he stood.

"Listen, Matthews, we need at least an hour before you move in." Lucas said into the phone.  
"The _President_ is not waiting an hour for his daughter!" Josh yelled into the phone.  
"This is important to her!" Lucas argued.  
"I don't care what's important to her!"

"Well I do, damn it, just stick to the plan!" Lucas punched the payphone in outrage, "I'll have her in front of the victory tower in one hour and then this whole thing will be over and she'll be all yours." Lucas turned around and came face to face with Riley Matthews.  
"What is going on?" She asked in disbelief and Lucas's face fell. "Who the hell-"  
"No..." Lucas shook his head and dropped the phone, trying to explain to Riley what was happening. "Riley just..."  
"No!" She exclaimed as he came closer to her and she kneed him in the crotch and ran away as he knelt forward in pain before going after her.  
"Do you see a Victory Column around here?" Josh asked Maya before they continued on their search.  
Lucas wormed his way through the crowd of people, trying to get to Riley, he lost sight of her and had to step up to higher crowds so he could scan the crowd better. He caught sight of Riley heading into the forest and jumped down to follow her.  
"Riley!" He called as he caught up to her and tried to grab her arm, "Let me explain."  
"Get away from me!" Riley escaped from his grasp and walked in a different direction.  
"It's okay, I'm secret service-"  
"That is such bullshit!"  
"I was in position outside the consulate when you ran. I was in contact with Matthews and Hart the whole time!"  
Riley stopped in her tracks and stared and Lucas, "Oh, my god."She felt so betrayed and she also felt the urge to throw up as everything she thought she knew suddenly came crashing down around her.  
"And then your father decided to give you some controlled freedom, so... I was his safety net." Lucas continued to explain, not wanting to keep anymore secrets between them. "And yours..."  
Riley couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You lied to me?" She asked on the verge of tears. Placing her hand over her heart.  
"I know..." He said softly, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, Jesus, I'm sorry but... something happened along the way."  
"Yeah no kidding, you asshole!" Riley turned away from Lucas.  
"Come on, you've gotta believe me." Lucas went after her again, not giving up.  
"How! How can I believe anything you say to me at this point!" The tears poured down Riley's cheeks.  
"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Lucas countered, "Is that I didn't plan for it to happen but it did!" Lucas took a breath for what he was about to say next, "I fell in love with you..." His voice was so soft as the words finally escaped his lips.  
The two stared at each other, both mirroring the same look of fear and anxiousness, and then another expression appeared on Riley's face, "You can go to hell. You and my father both." She walked past Lucas back into the Parade's crowd.  
Lucas stood there a moment, a little hurt, "Riley!" He called before he turned and once more chased after Riley, jumping on a passing float to get a better vantage point but he had lost her.

"This is Shawn, flying over the Love Parade now." He voiced into the radio from high above the parade in a helicopter.

Riley continued her run from Lucas, tears threatening to spill over, bumping into Parade goers as she did, "Excuse me..." Riley said as she tried sneaking past a man only to lose her balance and fall to the ground.  
Lucas was in hot pursuit after finding Riley and as he saw he fall he immediately quickened his pace, pushing anyone out of his way.  
Riley picked herself up off the ground and made her way back into the forested area.  
"Hey, my grandmother throws better than you!" A drunken man exclaimed to someone as Riley rested against a tree to catch her breath. "Hey, where are you guys going!" The man threw his beer bottle at the two men leaving them and the bottle crashed into the tree where Riley was resting.  
"Hey! Watch it!" She yelled at the man.  
"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Look who that is!" The man shouted at his friend, pointing at Riley, "It's Riley Matthews!" He said her name in the most condescending way Riley had ever heard.  
Riley began walking away but the drunken jerks just kept pestering her, drawing more attention to her, "No! I'm not Riley, okay?"  
"Come on, Riley!" Drunken man egged on.  
"Excuse me!" Riley kept trying to walk away from these men, but was soon outnumbered in a circle of all his friends, "I need-I need to go!" She exclaimed as she tried pushing past the group surrounding her.  
"How about going on a date, babe?"  
"Don't touch me!" Riley screamed as someone reached for her, she wasn't sure who by the number of bodies around her. "Just stop! Leave me alone!" More people began pushing her and making comments at her, "Just stop!"  
Two men from the Jumping German's group came up and grabbed Riley, pushing the harassers away from her and guiding her to a safer place. "Riley! Let me help you get out of here." One of the men offered her, his arm around her shoulders.  
"Thank you so much!" Riley felt an overwhelming sense of relief as these familiar faces came to help her.  
"Hey! You want some real fun? Come with us, sexy!" The other man came up to Riley and propositioned her, sandwiching her between him and his buddy.  
"Get away from me!" Riley tried pulling away as she now realized they weren't trying to help her at all.  
One of the guys pulled off her Princess Tiara and Riley lost her balance in the process, screaming as she fell to the ground.  
Lucas came out of nowhere and grabbed the first man, punching him in the face before turning to the second man and backhanded-punched him in the nose. The two men went down easy since they were already intoxicated and Lucas approached Riley where she was lying on the ground. He scooped her up in his arms and Riley finally gave into him as she wrapped one arm around his shoulders. Lucas carried Riley to where the helicopter was landing before he gently placed her feet on the ground.  
Since the helicopter stirred up so much wind and dirt Riley began to cough and quickly stepped away from Lucas to have her coughing fit.  
"Riley it's okay!" He yelled over the sound of the helicopter blades, "You're safe."  
Riley stared at him a moment, tears welling in her eyes, she felt like she had been living a dream and found the perfect guy, only to have the whole world come crashing down around her as the truth reared its ugly face. She ran past Lucas to where Maya and Josh were standing and hugged Maya for support.  
"You alright?" Josh asked her, placing a hand on her back to comfort her.  
Lucas took several steps toward Riley before he was stopped by two agents and Lucas didn't fight them, he knew this would happen so he stood there and watched as Riley got into the helicopter and began her ascent away from him.  
Riley looked out the window, despite herself, and looked at Lucas as he got smaller and smaller until she forced herself to look away.

Riley was now on the plane back to Washington with her parents, trying to sleep but kept thinking about everything her and Lucas had been through; to meeting in Prague by her accidentally bumping in to him, to him catching her as she slid down the rooftop the same night, to sharing toothpaste on the train to where they thought they were headed to Berlin but was actually Venice, to kissing in the morning after Lucas finally admitted his feelings for Riley and chose her over the phone.


	13. The Big Gesture (FINAL)

**(A/N)** This is it guys! The final chapter of Chasing Riley. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and enjoying this fanfic. It was a lot of fun to write and considering this is my first ever fanfic story and not just a one shot I am very happy with how it worked out. Also, I was going to upload yesterday but I didn't because I wanted to pay my respects to the Veterans for Remembrance Day. Thank you so much for sticking with me and this story and I hope you enjoy this final chapter. I love you all.

 **EDIT** I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter at first, HERE is the right one, my apologies.

* * *

When Riley returned home it was as if nothing changed. Her father never stopped being President and carrying out his duties, Riley watched him from the window inside her room as he lead a speech to dozens of reporters. She peeled her eyes away from her father only to have them land on the cat mask she had bought while she was in Venice. She picked it up and slowly walked over to her open suitcase and placed it inside.  
"How's your heart?" Topanga asked as she watched Riley pack up some of her belongings.  
"It's..." Riley hesitated, "a little bit broken."  
Topanga nodded at her daughter, wanting to do anything to ease the pain she was feeling. All she could do was pull Riley into a comforting hug.

Maya and Josh sat in the Library of Harvard University, waiting for Riley to finish her classes.  
"There's something about a college campus isn't there, Hart?" He nudged Maya.  
"What do you mean?" She asked looking up from the bridal magazine in her hand.  
"The fallen leaves, the promise of youth, the smell of curriculum..." Maya smiled at him, "I'm thinkin' we probably gotta get new partners." Josh said.  
Maya scrunched up her nose and nodded in agreement as she fiddled with the pages of the magazine. "I'm thinking I'm okay with that."  
"Yeah? That so?"  
"Yeah." Maya teased him, "As long as your partners like an old fat guy."  
"I love old fat guys!"  
"You do?"  
"I do." Josh leaned in to give Maya a kiss but she started laughing, "What?" She only laughed more.  
"Shh!" Riley exclaimed from behind them, looking in a drawer.

The three of them walked around outside, Maya and Josh bumping into each other like pre-teens flirting. Causing Maya to laugh and beam at the taller boy.  
"You guys are in love, huh?" Riley asked, smiling at their behaviour.  
"Yeah I guess so." They agreed nonchalantly.  
"I mean, it's amazing, here I am at this great school... and there's not one course on love." Riley mused to herself.  
"Oh, you can't learn love in a classroom... the dorms maybe." Josh joked which earned him a slap from Maya. "What? Can't learn about it in a classroom."  
"Come on. You know what? Love is not always that easy." Maya interjected.  
"Nothing worth getting never is." Josh added.  
"Awwww." Maya mocked but she really was touched by what he said.  
"I mean, did you try to get _chili fries_ on this campus? They sell chili, and oh yes, they sell the fries but somehow they can't put the two together." Josh continued, while he was speaking though Riley noticed something stuck on the side of the bulletin board and she walked closer to get a better look. Sure enough it was what she thought, a _Six Million Dollar Man_ sticker. Just like Zay said it would, it brought a smile to her face as she shook her head.

Christmas came around and the White House was decorated for the festivities. Riley walked down the hallway to her father's office, being greeted by the agents around the house.  
"Welcome home." One of the servants said as he passed by her.  
"Thank you, happy holidays." Riley replied  
"Oh thanks, and you."  
"Hey, Eric." Riley approached him, "Is he busy?"  
"Not for you." Eric responded.  
"New shades?" Riley inquired.  
"Yeah."  
"Nice... Hey Shawn, new suit?" She questioned.  
"Nah." Shawn shook his head and Riley smiled, continuing her way to her father's office.  
"Hey! Boy, oh hey buddy, how've you been?" Riley asked as her dog came running to her and she pet him.  
"Hey, sweetie." Cory said as he got up from where he was sitting and walked over to hug his daughter.  
"Hey, daddy." She embraced him.  
"Wow, you look," Cory pulled back and looked at his daughter, "you look collegiate."  
"...Thanks?" Riley laughed.  
"How's school?"  
"It's good! Yeah."  
"Good, am I in any textbooks yet?"  
"No, not yet." Riley shook her head with a smile on her face.  
"I hope you're taking some time to have some fun." Cory's tone changed slightly.  
"You do?" Riley asked skeptically.  
"Yeah."  
"Since when?" Riley took a step away from her father and walked around his office.  
"Riley."  
"No, dad, you know what? I um, I know why you were so protective. You didn't want me to get hurt and you were right. I needed protection because people can't be trusted." Riley shrugged, "I have learned my lesson.  
"I didn't want you to learn that lesson."  
"Too late." Riley walked over to the window and looked out at the snow covered field, "God... I love this house at Christmas."  
"We miss you around here, Riley." Riley turned around and smiled at her father, crossing her arms while she stared at him, "So, you given any more thought to that exchange program at University of Texas?"  
"No, not really, why?"  
"I just always thought it was a great opportunity."  
"Yeah, I guess." Riley agreed while looking at a Christmas card. "Okay, well I'll leave you to it and I will see you at dinner." She began to leave her father's office. "Do I smell cigar smoke?"  
Cory shook his head.  
"Dad!"  
"No, I don't think so."  
"Okay so that's the story you're sticking with?"  
"Don't tell your mother."  
Riley laughed before leaning over and kissing Cory on the cheek.  
"You remember agent Friar... Lucas?"  
"Dad..."  
"He's not an agent anymore, he quit."  
"Really?" Riley asked, shocked by this news.  
"Yeah, he's living in Austin now. Maybe he's found something he's more passionate about. Just a theory."  
"Yeah..."  
"Thought you'd wanna know."  
Riley nodded, "Okay." She said before walking out of his office.

The Long Center for the Performing Arts. Lucas Friar stood with a camera, recording an Operatic performance. One of his colleagues approached him with some news.  
"It's Riley Matthews." He informed him.  
Lucas looked up from his camera, shocked by what he had just heard, surely it couldn't be true. He glanced over his shoulder to see a familiar figure standing in the aisle way of the theatre. He stared for a moment before walking over to meet her half way.  
"What are you doing here?" He asked.  
"I'm um... a big Puccini groupie." She joked, "I'm studying first semester at The University of Texas." Riley told him more seriously.  
Lucas barely contained an amused smirk as he crossed his arms and stared at Riley.  
"I came to find you."  
"You did?"  
"Yeah... I'm making the _big gesture_." She told him, remembering what he had told her about his parents.  
"How did you know I was here?" He asked, the smile growing wider on his face.  
"I have connections." Riley said playfully with a huge grin on her face.  
"Oh yeah... So you've got a little thing for me?"  
"No," She shook her head, "Big thing."  
Lucas took a step closer to Riley before halting himself as Josh and his new old man partner walked into the theatre, "If I kiss you, do you think they'll shoot me?"  
"No... But I will if you don't." She informed him and all it took was the slightest of smiles from Lucas before he pulled her in and kissed her to make up for all the lost time.  
Josh glanced back at his partner, standing there stone faced, while he was giddy with excitement over the two.  
Riley and Lucas finally broke apart and Riley smiled, "Pease, can you help me get out of here?" She said, recalling the night they met.  
"Yeah, why not." Lucas echoed the same words he did all that time ago. Grabbing Riley's hand and running out of the theatre before the two took off in his motorcycle once more, followed by one secret service van.


End file.
